


Falling or Flying

by WheresTheTurtle



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angel!Castiel, Basically everyone being really clueless, Dean hunts Cas but doesn't know it, M/M, Maybe fluff?? idk if I an write fluff, Secretly an Angel!Cas, Winged Castiel, hunter!dean
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-12
Updated: 2015-04-20
Packaged: 2018-01-04 11:03:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1080267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WheresTheTurtle/pseuds/WheresTheTurtle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel, a newly fallen angel, is asked by Balthazar and Gabriel to help retrieve the weapons of Heaven they had hidden. Posing as a high school student, Castiel does so faithfully, though is distracted by the brilliant Dean Winchester, a young hunter who's soul caught his eye while he was still in Heaven, who is determined to stop a mystery thief at all costs.<br/>(Hasn't been updated in a while but I guarantee I will continue)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Castiel walked through the gardens of heaven for the last time. He walked towards what could only be considered the edge, where a small crowd had gathered. It was not every day an angel fell. Most just disappeared or ran away, but he had no other choice but to fall and cut himself off from heaven completely.

It was not solely his choice. Gabriel, who had also 'fallen' - as much as possible, being an archangel - had asked Castiel to join him and Balthazar on Earth. They had been there for many centuries, living with the humans without concern for the business of Heaven and its war raging against Hell, which was reaching its peak.

Though of course even that alone could not fully convince him to fall. Castiel had caught sight of a soul. A soul more beautiful than anything in Heaven or Earth. He had followed its movements all over North America, though he had no clue of its owner’s specific actions or intentions. He had simply enjoyed watching the pure magnificence since its creation 17 years ago. He had seen it begin with two other souls, rising to three then recently falling to now only one.

That soul was the main reason for his falling, he wanted to join it on Earth. He so desperately wanted to meet the owner of such purity. He knew so little about the person who carried it, he knew so little of the humans who lived below him. Castiel knew he could simply leave Heaven to join with the human, though he also knew it would only be temporary. He wanted no more to do with Heaven and its 'temporary inconveniences', and he did not want any chance of being found and subsequently punished like the many before him. He wanted out and Gabriel had given him the final push to leave indefinitely.

Castiel bowed his head so as to avoid the looks the small crowd was giving him. Looks mixed with sadness, pity and in some cases, anger. As he neared the edge and looked down upon the world he was to join, he heard the familiar voice of Michael call out to him.

"Don't worry Castiel, falling's just like flying, only there’s a more permanent destination," Michael almost snorted with laughter. Castiel had never been particularly fond of Michael though he could neither speak up nor act out against him, the most powerful angel in Heaven. And even if he could, it was too late. Castiel simply shook his head at the mockery and continued.

Castiel took one last wavering step towards the edge and lined his feet up against it. One deep breath and determined look later, he was gone.

He felt the air rushing past his head at speeds incomprehensible to even an angel. The fall to Earth wouldn't take long and so the changes happening to him were almost overwhelming. He felt himself take a definitive shape, rather than the flickering uncertainty he was up in Heaven. He felt heavy as gravity caught him in its grasp. As everything was coming into place, Castiel felt one more thing happen to him that he was not expecting. He felt the bone and muscle of wings that must have a wingspan of at least 14 feet, form just below his shoulder blades. These alien appendages were almost instantly covered in feathers, though Castiel was surprised, if not horrified, at the deep ebony colouring of them as he stretched them out experimentally. His course was not altered until the very last second, when he saw the ground rushing up to meet him. Castiel almost winced as he came within meters of the ground, only to have his wings finally catch the air and take him softly down. Though not being used to the weight of his body, he came crashing down and had little will to get up.

Castiel heard the sound of air moving as the shadow of a person fell across him. He squinted to see who was standing above him but his vision began to blur.

A cheerful chime of "How’s it going little bro?" was all he heard before he blacked out.

x

A few hours later, Castiel finally awoke. He felt tired and heavy and had to force himself to sit up, finding he was lying on a large, soft bed covered with pure white sheets. His eyes adjusted to the light and he took in his surroundings, a large open room with little furniture other than the bed and a couple of plain chairs pushed up against the wall on the other side. Another was positioned next to the bed and as Castiel turned to it he noticed a boy, no older than 18 sitting in it. He had slightly long brown hair that flicked up at the end and bright hazel eyes and stared at Castiel with a familiarity that could only be from one person, or angel rather.

"Gabriel?" he asked tentatively, his voice coming out hoarse as he tested it for the first time. Gabriel's eyes lit up instantly as Castiel recognised him and a big grin spread across his face.

"Took you long enough, you've been asleep for 4 hours now!" Gabriel laughed and jumped up from his seat, "We found you all the way down in New Zealand! Seems you don't have very good aim bro, but then who does when they're falling from up top?"

"We? Is Balthazar here also?" Castiel looked towards the door just opposite the bed he was lying on as it was flung open to reveal a man in his mid-40's strolling through it.

"Ah, Cassie's awake I see," he said with a thick British accent.

"I-I don't understand, where am I?" Castiel asked the two standing at the foot of the bed, gazing at them curiously and making himself familiar with their appearances. He supposed he would have to do the same with himself at some point, he was curious as to what he looked like as a human, though that could wait until Gabriel and Balthazar had brought him up to speed.

Gabriel bounced on the balls of his feet as he started to explain what he and Balthazar had been doing while Castiel had been in heaven, mostly causing mischief in small towns and running before hunters could catch up to them. Castiel had been unfamiliar with the concept of demon hunters though quickly understood the concept and became acquainted with the many different ways to screw up their days, for fun, as Gabriel had reassured him. He was also told to avoid them at all costs. While they may not be able to kill or seriously hurt angels without the aid of an Angel Blade, they could still cause more trouble than would be needed.

Soon enough, Gabriel and Balthazar had finished bringing Castiel up to speed with themselves and had shown him around the house they had acquired, through questionable methods no doubt. Once the house tour was over, Gabriel gave Castiel some surprising news.

"We're signing you up for high school bro!" Gabriel seemed to always be much too cheerful for his own good, especially when high school was yet another concept Castiel was unfamiliar with. After Gabriel established that it was an educational institution that he and Castiel were required to attend to maintain a normal appearance to the other humans. Gabriel had also clarified, with the use of a mirror, that much like himself, Castiel's body had taken the form of a teenage boy around the age of 17, with dark brown hair and inhumanly bright blue eyes, as if a part of his remaining grace was trying to shine out into the human world.

"When will I be starting at this high school?" Castiel asked Gabriel, as Balthazar seemed to get distracted and left the room.

"Next week, you'll be enrolled as my younger brother in the year below me with Balthazar as our uncle. I've been there already long enough to establish enough background for it to be believable so just tell everyone you're my little bro and you should be all good," he replied, almost smugly, as if proud of carving his own corner in the school.

Castiel tilted his head while looking at his brother, trying to figure out what he was thinking, what could sending him to school achieve? He had the knowledge of all of heaven at his command and yet he was required to learn what he already knew? Coming up a blank, he sat down on the couch that was pushed carefully against the far wall of the living room, though it appeared to be more for decoration than functionality as it seemed even fallen angels did not need them. He adjusted himself on the cushions and suddenly remembered the main reason for his fall. The soul.

If Castiel were to attend high school, surely that would limit his time to search for whomever the soul belonged to. He couldn't go to school, he had to search! But his loyalties lay more with Gabriel than himself at that moment, could he leave his own brother, whom he'd been with from the very first moment of his existence, for a single soul he'd only known for 17 years? That time was the blink of an eye for an angel, over in a flash, though it felt like an eternity watching the comforting glow as it lived its life.

Castiel dragged himself back to Gabriel's never-breaking chatter. He looked so happy, so glad to finally have his brother back. Castiel could never leave him, no matter how much Castiel wanted –needed- to find the person whose soul he'd been watching over, the two or so years it would take to get through high school would be insignificant in the long run. He could do it, he could make it two years, get adjusted to being 'human' or as much of one that he could be.

Speaking of being human...

"Gabriel, why don't you have wings? I could have sworn I-" Castiel was cut off when a huge grin spread across his brother's face.

"Oh Cassy boy, you're in for a whole lotta fun!" Gabriel grabbed Castiel's arm and pulled him up from the couch. Castiel's eyes widened as Gabriel tugged his shirt over his head and closed his eyes. With a rustle of feathers, two huge amber-coloured wings unfurled themselves from between his shoulder blades and spread out almost ten feet either side of him, brushing against the walls of the room. Castiel simply stared in awe as Gabriel's smile widened even further, if that was possible.

"How..?"

"Just concentrate, and it will happen. I'm surprised you managed to hold them in this long, it takes a lot of power and control, but as your grace weakens it will probably get harder" Gabriel shrugged at the last part and helped Castiel to take off the black T-shirt he wore that was slightly too big for him and so obviously Balthazar's.

Castiel closed his eyes and tried to focus on the same area of his back that he saw Gabriel's wings appear from. He could feel them, scratching at the corners of his mind, itching to burst forth into existence. He felt their weight, their shape, he could feel each individual quill and pulled them into being. He felt the stretch of muscles, the formation of bones and movement deep within himself. Suddenly a great relief washed over him, as if a pressure building within his body had suddenly been banished. Castiel heard Gabriel's sharp intake of breath and slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to see two huge wings, only slightly smaller than Gabriel's, a black so incomprehensibly dark that shimmered with their silky, perfectly even feathers. Castiel turned to Gabriel with a questioning look. Sure, angels could have wings of any colour, but black was unheard of, even for the archangels.

"Well that's certainly... Different," Gabriel's voice held no concern, which gave Castiel little comfort, "Ah well, guess that means you're just special! Now don't you want to try them out?" he patted Castiel on the back and motioned him to follow.

Once they had made it outside to the early hours of dawn, Castiel stretched out his wings far out to either side of him, shivering slightly as he felt the wind blow gently against them, causing the large ebony feathers so ruffle and misalign themselves from their perfect placing. While flying on Earth was much more complicated than in Heaven, it was instinct for Castiel to give his wings a few experimental flaps, catch the air, push hard off the ground and soar into the sky. From the moment he left the ground, Castiel was filled with a euphoric feeling. He felt every change in the wind and air around him, he had to smile at the glorious feeling of the wind rushing past him at amazing speed. The sensations he was feeling made him happier in that moment than he had ever felt in Heaven, he felt truly free.

Castiel took a moment to take in the world below him. Gabriel's house was the only one for miles, which couldn't have been coincidental. There was a small forest not far from the front of the house and never ending blankets of grass rolling out like a carpet in all directions. Gabriel was still on the ground, and was motioning for Castiel to come back down, which Castiel did less than gracefully. Not quite getting the hang of landing, he landed heavily on his feet and felt a strange crack and throbbing pain shoot through his lower leg. Pain. Castiel had never felt something like it before. Having a corporeal body would take some getting used to. Within seconds, the pain had vanished, replaced by a cooling wave of relief as he felt what must have been a broken bone repair itself within his leg.

"Careful there bro, come on we need to get ready. You've been up there for almost an hour!" Gabriel dragged Castiel inside after hastily teaching him how to hide his wings, which he did with more effort than he anticipated. With a grunt of discomfort he followed his brother inside who immediately started piling him up with books and other apparent necessities for school.

A short glance at a clock hanging high on a wall in the seemingly unnecessary kitchen showed the time to be 7:03. Gabriel threw Castiel some clothes and pushed him into what had been established as his room.

"Figure out how to put those on, I'm not helping you!" Gabriel yelled with a laugh from the other side of the door. Castiel stared at the navy blue top and black jeans in his arms, quickly figuring out how to put them on while having difficulty with the buttons of his shirt. After several tries he finally got all of them in their right positions and made his way to the door just as Gabriel started banging on it yelling that it was time to go. Castiel hurriedly made his way out the front door after Gabriel and followed him to the shiny red car parked haphazardly in the driveway.

"Gabriel, why don't we just fly there? Wouldn't it be much faster?" Castiel tipped his head to the side slightly as he took in the relatively small vehicle before him.

"Like I said before bro, keeping up appearances. We can't look human if we just magically turn up at school every morning, we gotta do what humans do and drive there," Gabriel replied as he motioned for Castiel to open the door as he did the same. Castiel soon slid in next to him and as Gabriel started the car and drove out, he studied the lights, knobs and displays spread out in front of him.

x

Around half an hour later, the two angels arrived in front of the large school building. Gabriel found a parking spot and dragged Castiel out and shoved a backpack into his arms, before turning him around and essentially pushing him into the grounds and into a room marked 'Office'. Gabriel went up to an older lady seated behind a desk and started talking to her, making gestures towards Castiel every now and then. The lady caught sight of Castiel and gave him a warm smile before looking back to Gabriel and shuffling through some papers and handing one to Gabriel. He took it and shot the lady one last smile before turning back to Castiel and handing him the slip of paper, dragging him out with him. Castiel read the paper, his Class Schedule.

"I'm sure you'll find your way around soon enough, I gotta go, my people await me!" Gabriel winked at Castiel and walked off down a hallway to his left. Castiel turned his schedule over to find a basic map showing him the various classrooms in the building. Quickly checking his first class, Chemistry, he soon made his way to his right and found himself in front of a door marked with the number he was looking for. Opening the door and slowly shuffling inside, he saw the class must have just started and waited quietly until the teacher up the front of the room noticed his presence, who did so after a few seconds.

"Ah, you must be Castiel! Our new student, it’s not often we get new students half way through term like this, but please, sit down wherever there's a spare seat" The man, who appeared to be in his 30's gestured towards the rows of desks with numerous students seated behind. Castiel glanced around to the other students as he made his way to a seat at the back of the room, the only desk left empty. Even after falling from Heaven, he could still see the souls shining from within everyone around him, though most were muted and dull, nothing in comparison to the shining purity comparable to the brilliance of the stars he had been watching. The small glimmer of hope that he may find the owner of such magnificence was smashed as he could not feel its presence anywhere near. Castiel sat down and looked over his bag for a few seconds, figuring out how to open it and rifling around for a book similar to what the other students had out, as Gabriel had explained everything he would need would be in the bag.

Pulling out a rather large textbook labelled "Chemistry", he flicked through the pages and memorised all he already knew by the time the class was over, barely paying attention to what the teacher was saying.

Time on Earth was certainly much slower paced than it had been in Heaven, and the mere hours he had in the building seemed to drag on like years.

 


	2. Chapter 2

~ 1 Month Later ~

"Cassie, Gabriel and I would like to talk to you," Balthazar gestured for Castiel to sit on the couch beside him and Gabriel, which he did giving a questioning look to his brothers, "We didn't exactly ask you down here because we were lonely, we have a job for you," Castiel's head tilted in confusion.

"A job doing what, Balthazar? What could possibly warrant my falling to do?" Castiel's eyes flicked between Gabriel and Balthazar as the shot a look between themselves.

"Remember when all those weapons went missing in Heaven Cassie, and no one had a clue where they went? Uriel staged a full scale search for them too," Gabriel laughed nervously, "We - well, Balthy here - took 'em."

Castiel's eyes rose in shock, Heaven's trove of weapons, the most dangerous objects is put in the wrong hands, had been missing for hundreds of years without a trace. "Why would you do that? You know how dangerous they are!" Castiel had no idea his closest brothers could do anything like this.

"We saw an opportunity and took it Castiel, and with the war between Heaven and Hell reaching its climax, both sides would be willing to do anything to have control over them," Balthazar continued, looking much less guilty than Gabriel, who had his eyes downcast to the floor.

"And what is it exactly that you intend me to do?" Balthazar's eyes lit up and he nudged Gabriel, bringing his attention back to the conversation.

"You and Gabriel are going to get them back for me. Naturally I couldn't keep them all around so I hid them all around the state, being the genius I am," Balthazar winked at Castiel, "They're hidden in museum displays pretending to be cheap plastic replicas," Castiel stared at him in disbelief, could he really be this selfish? Balthazar could see the gears turning in Castiel's head and shook his at his brother's naivety.

"Come on bro, why not break the rules a little now that you're down here? I know you think schools a dump, I do too but this can get your mind off it," Gabriel's uncertainty dissolved and gave Castiel a sympathetic look, as if performing an act of rebellion against Heaven was just what he needed. As Castiel looked into his brother's eyes, he could feel his walls breaking down and his shoulders slumped in defeat as he slowly nodded.

"I- I'll do it," he cast his eyes down to his hands, clasped together on his lap.

"Knew you would, now get ready you two," Balthazar stood to leave the room but Castiel grabbed his arm, stopping him from moving any further.

"We're going _now_?" Castiel was shocked, afraid even, that he was going through an act of such rebellion so soon. Balthazar simply chucked and clapped him on the shoulder, leaving with a wink. Castiel turned to Gabriel and saw him shrug and pulled Castiel into his room and started rifling through his wardrobe of clothes, pulling out a plain shirt and a tan trench coat that, upon inspection, appeared to have two thin slits down the back. Gabriel turned and shoved them into Castiel's arms and turned to leave the room.

"Gabriel, what are these for?" Castiel examined the clothes in his arms and slipped his hand between one of the slits in the coat.

"You can't exactly go wondering around shirtless when you have your wings out bro, we aren't exactly immune to the cold," Gabriel gestured for him to put them on and left the room, giving him privacy once more.

Castiel quickly replaced his shirt with the one given to him by Gabriel and shrugged on the trench coat, finding comfort in its warmth and weight on his shoulders. He then met Gabriel in the living room once more and unfurled his wings and with a quick lesson on the type of flight required to move around undetected, they blinked out of existence and reappeared in a dark hall. Their footsteps echoed as they searched for the room where Balthazar had hidden one of the many stolen weapons.

An excited yell from Gabriel was heard up the hallway, suggesting he had found the correct room and Castiel followed the sound to find Gabriel standing over a glass display case containing an old book and various cards informing the viewer of the original book's contents and origins, many of the facts were of course incorrect. Gabriel ushered him over and with a touch of his finger, the case exploded, shattering into a thousand tiny shards, harming neither angel in the process. Gabriel grabbed the book and pushed it into Castiel's arms, examining the remaining displays for any more of the stolen relics. Castiel stood still in the centre of the room, surrounded by the chips of glass, unsure of whether to follow his brother around the room or fly back home in distress, to terrified of being caught, by human or angel, wings pulling tight to his body in comfort.

Once Gabriel had checked every other display, he nodded to Castiel and disappeared in a flurry of feathers, the younger angel following soon behind, returning to the familiarity of home, or what he had come to call home in his short time on Earth.

x

"Dean!" Sam grabbed the wheel of the Impala, steering it back into the correct lane as a truck came blearing past, narrowly missing the car as its horn blew deafeningly loud. Dean woke with a start, head shooting up from its resting place on the steering wheel, once again gaining control of the vehicle.

"Sorry," Dean mumbled, eyes fighting to focus on the road once more.

"Dean, we've been on the road for almost 2 days straight, you need to sleep," Sam looked over to his brother, one year his senior, and rolled his eyes as he huffed in annoyance, "Bobby is only an hour’s drive away, we can stop there for a couple of days, we don't need to be hunting all the time you know."

"We don't need Bobby, he'll just force us to stay, we need to keep hunting Sam," Sam sighed at his brother's stubbornness.

"Just for a few nights Dean, all we've been doing is hunting and _you_ need sleep," Dean sighed and nodded reluctantly, increasing their speed slightly. Sam smiled at having won and sat back in the seat watching the darkness outside from the window.

Almost an hour later, the two brothers pulled into Bobby's driveway and an exhausted Dean, followed by Sam, pulled himself out from the car and stumbled to the front door, already being opened by a less than happy Bobby who wordlessly let them in. Sam quietly greeted him and slumped on the couch in the living room and watched his brother practically fall onto the spare room bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

"So what do you know?" Bobby asked, moving to the kitchen and grabbing a newspaper. Sam raised an eyebrow at Bobby's seemingly random question.

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"Well I'm assuming you two idjits are here about the break in," Bobby threw the newspaper onto Sam's lap, open to an article about a break in to a museum.

"But it's just a break in, Bobby. Those aren't usually our thing," Sam examined the article, some replica of an ancient book was stolen. Who would want to waste their time with a fake book?

"No forced entry or exit, only one thing, one /worthless/thing missing and glass doesn't shatter that small when you hit it, and it's the second of its kind, looks like your kinda thing," Bobby stated matter-of-factly. Sam sighed and looked towards the guest room where Dean was sleeping. They'd been hunting non-stop for over 3 months since their dad died and had just finished a basic salt and burn case a couple of states over.

"I guess we could check it out tomorrow," Sam said reluctantly, looking back towards Bobby.

"Uh-uh, you boys ain't doing nothing. You're teenagers for god’s sake, you can wait a few days, do normal things. I don't know, maybe even go to school, it'd be good for you and your brother. You need to take some time off," Sam chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully. He liked the idea of taking a break, and he'd missed going to school more than anything. But they couldn't let a case go, no matter how small it seemed.

"I'll ask Dean about it in the morning, he won't like the idea but I can try and convince him," Sam declared. Bobby nodded and patted his head good night, walking back towards his room. Sam grabbed one of the blankets hanging over the back of the couch, spreading it over himself and settling himself down for the best sleep he'd had in weeks.

x

The next morning, Dean awoke to the voices of Sam and Bobby drifting down from the living room. He slowly got up and made his way out of the spare room and patted his brother's head as he sat on the couch next to him. Bobby nodded to him and left the house, restocking on hunting supplies he'd lent to Rufus, who'd never returned them.

"Dean come on, we've got to get ready," Sam stood up and walked towards the kitchen where there were various books and bags.

"For what? What's all this for?" Dean questioned his brother, looking at the various books -textbooks he realised- and raised an eyebrow.

"I wanted to ask you but Bobby figured it would be better to... Not," Sam suddenly found his hands to be the most interesting thing in the room and refused to meet his brother's eyes.

"Sam, what are these for? What do you mean?" he was handed a small slip of paper with an address and the name of a school. Dean's eyes widened as he saw where his brother was going with this.

"Bobby wanted us to stop hunting for a while, so he put us in school, Dean," Sam started shoving his pile of books in one of the bags and nodded his head towards a slightly larger pile, obviously for Dean, motioning for him to do the same.

"Sam, I'm not going. We can't just _stop_ ," Dean glared at the books as if they would lead to his demise. Sam sighed and retrieved the newspaper Bobby had shown him and pointed out the article about the break in.

"We can stay here _and_ solve a case at the same time. I just want to do something a little more normal for once, I miss school Dean," Sam pleaded with his brother.

"Fine," Dean sighed, giving in to his brother for the second time in two days. At least they wouldn't just be trapped inside the walls of the school, he could still hunt - that was what he needed to keep his mind busy. He shoved the books into the remaining bag haphazardly and hauled it onto his shoulder and barging out the front door into the Impala, waiting impatiently for his younger brother who dashed out excitedly a minute later.

Following the directions Sam recited from memory, he pulled outside a monstrous school building and groaned as he got out and followed Sam to the office, receiving their class schedules and parting down different hallways, Sam with an eager grin and Dean with an eye roll but smile at seeing his brother so happy. Dean sighed when he saw his first class, one of his least favourites, Chemistry.

x

Castiel's focus was not on the class at all, it never was, he much preferred to stare out the window the whole day, it was much more interesting than the inside of it. He was the kid who never paid attention yet always got the top mark in the class. He'd gained a not so positive reputation from this, people thought he was just too weird, and as a result had made a total of zero friends. Not that he cared, he'd be out within two years and could travel -and search for the owner of that soul- to his heart's content. Chemistry was the last thought on his mind at that moment.

Balthazar had recovered two of his 'lost relics' as he had decided to call them, and there were still many more to retrieve. Gabriel had decided they would work their way from the closest to the furthest displays searching for them. Castiel huffed in annoyance at being dragged into their plans, 'getting rich' off of the war was not the most ideal lifestyles he had in mind.

He was distracted from his thoughts by a strange feeling he couldn't pinpoint, though it felt like a tugging at his wings, hidden within his back. The feeling wasn't necessarily uncomfortable, though rather unfamiliar. Castiel shifted in his seat, as if that would help the problem.

Still staring out the window, he heard the classroom door open and shut quietly, as if someone were trying to slip in unnoticed, though whomever entered caught the attention of every girl in the class as they started whispering amongst themselves almost immediately. The teacher must have noticed as he immediately called out in recognition.

"Dean Winchester, I'm assuming? Our second new student at such an odd time of the year, please take a seat next to Castiel back there," he gestured to the only spare seat in the class, the one sharing a large desk with Castiel at the back. His shoulders sagged as he realised he would lose his small corner of privacy to this stranger whose face he hadn't even bothered to look up at. He begrudgingly moved his bag off the chair next to his and shot a glance towards his new neighbour who was slowly shuffling down the rows of seats to the back.

As Castiel's eyes lowered to the window again, they widened, his breath catching in his throat, and he had to look back. He almost had to squint to see past the blinding light shining out from within him, within Dean. The feeling tugging at his wings spread throughout s body and he almost felt light headed. He could feel his heart pounding, something that was a lot more unpleasant that it sounded.

Dean.

Dean Winchester.

He didn't need to search in the end, he had found him in one of the most unassuming places. So plain and ordinary it was not even close to worthy of his presence, a presence that overwhelmed Castiel so much that he couldn't move, even if he wanted to. Which he didn't.

He felt heat rise in his cheeks as Dean raised an eyebrow at him as he sat down, catching him staring in such awe. His arm brushed against Dean's as he dropped into his seat and a sharp sensation, not exactly painful, shot through it. Castiel had to fight hard to keep enough focus on keeping his wings hidden as they threatened to burst forth from lack of concentration, though he could not pull his gaze from deep within the emerald eyes staring back in confusion.

"You okay there, uh..." Dean asked, trailing off as he tried to remember the name the teacher had mentioned. He shot glances around the room to see if anyone else was as confused as he was to this stranger's reaction to him. His words seemed to break the trance as he suddenly shut his mouth that had unknowingly opened and let out a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding. His whole body seemed to shudder and visibly relax with the loss of eye contact, though he still seemed uncertain about what to say or do.

"C-Castiel," he choked out, surprised at himself for stuttering over a human. Though he wasn't just a human, he was Dean Winchester, the soul he had been watching since the day of his birth in what could be considered endearment.

"Okay then, you okay there Cas?" Dean asked, shortening the name for convenience, who names their kid _Castiel_ anyway? The nickname caught the angel off guard as he turned back go stare at Dean, his brow furrowed in confusion. Dean rolled his eyes in impatience and turned his attention to the desk, finger following a scratch carved into it, paying no attention to the boy beside him who had started staring at him once again.

Soon after, the bell rang signalling the end of the period. Castiel hurriedly packed up his books, eager to leave class and recompose himself. He'd thought meeting Dean would be a pleasant experience, but instead he made a fool of himself. As Castiel practically jumped from his seat, his foot got caught around one of the legs and he found himself sprawled on the ground, head just next to Dean's foot and books spread across the floor.

"Jesus man, be careful," Dean dropped his bag on the desk he had been sitting at and stooped to help Castiel pick up his textbooks, rolling his eyes. Castiel muttered a quiet apology and shook his head to himself for acting so... Human. The two both reached for one of the books at the same time, hands brushing as they both picked it up, Castiel felt yet another jolt of what could be compared to electricity. Dean's hand jerked away, dropping the book as he inspected it, looking for the cause of the similar feeling rushing through his arm. He narrowed his eyes at Castiel, as if he were the cause of it and watched the boy shy away from his gaze as he finished repacking his bag.

"Umm, so what do you have next?" Dean scratched the back of his neck, he didn't need to talk to this boy but something about him intrigued him. Castiel's eyes widened as he realised he was being spoken to again and he slipped out his schedule that was sticking out of one of his textbooks as a bookmark and showed him, not trusting his voice at that moment, "huh, English. I have that too," Dean got out his own slip of paper and compared the two, noticing there were very few classes they didn't share.

"I-I can show you," Castiel gestured to the door, offering to take him to his next class. Dean nodded and shoved his paper in his back pocket, motioning for Castiel to start moving, which he did hurriedly.

The two of them walked in silence, Castiel staring at the ground, glancing at Dean occasionally from the corner of his eye, and Dean with his eyes glued to the strange boy next to him. They walked into a classroom a couple of minutes and Castiel made his way to his usual seat at the back. Dean followed awkwardly and stood at the seat next to his.

"Does anyone sit here?" He pointed to the seat nervously, which was unlike his usual demeanour, though something about Castiel made him uncertain. He was surprised when he received a shaking head. Did the kid sit alone all day? Dean glanced around, spotting one other spare seat towards the middle of the room but decided against it and sat down at the seat in front of him.

Again, an uncomfortable silence enveloped the two. Castiel spent the lesson fiddling with a pencil and Dean could hardly tear his gaze from him, trying to figure the boy out, which he failed greatly at. When he had first walked into Chemistry, he looked like he cared for nothing around him, though when he saw Dean he had been reduced to a bumbling mess.

The day went by too quickly for the both of them, the two only separating at lunch when Dean disappeared to find his brother and Castiel went to his usual spot in the library, where he spent most break times at a desk behind the packed wooden shelves, reading whatever book he picked out. Few words were shared between them as neither could bring himself to talk. Dean had opened his mouth a few times, causing Castiel to look up at him expectantly, though he always shut it as he realised he didn't know what to say. He never missed the not-quite-hidden look of disappointment on Castiel's face as he looked away every time.

They parted ways at the end of the day with quiet 'goodbye's and both met with their respective brothers.

"You've got another job tonight, and this time I can't come with," Gabriel leaned against his car as Castiel approached, he relaxed because as soon as Dean had left, so had the strange feeling he got when he was around him. Though it felt that with it went something else, leaving him feeling like something was missing that he desperately wanted back.

"What am I collecting this time?" Castiel wanted to roll his eyes, though he knew it would do nothing more than amuse his brother.

"Staff of Moses. Well _half_. Balthy kinda broke it in the getaway," Gabriel got in the car and as Castiel followed, started it up.

"He _broke_ the _Staff of Moses_?" Castiel exclaimed. Gabriel laughed at his distress.

"It's a long story, but you need to get it tonight so we can get the other half later," Gabriel said, unhelpfully. This time Castiel did roll his eyes, and nodded in reluctant agreement.

x

"Dean I think I might know which museum is going to be targeted next, if there _is_ a next target," Sam explained to his older brother as they drove back to Bobby's, "Both of the break ins before have been at different locations and if the patterns not random, they're moving outwards from here."

"Point the way, Sammy. We'll get ready and head out tonight," Dean crept his foot down ever so slightly on the accelerator to get them home faster, he was getting restless already without hunting for not even a week.

"Bobby doesn't know we're on this case so you can't tell him," Dean raised an eyebrow at his brother, he wasn't usually into breaking the rules, he'd much rather follow them to the letter. But Dean wasn't going to argue in case Bobby forced them to stay back and take care of it himself.

That night, Bobby thankfully had to go out again, for what he didn't say, so Sam and Dean could sneak out without worry. Dean drove the Impala, following Sam's directions and parked outside a grand building, giving a facade of importance it obviously didn't have. Dean grabbed his gun his father had given him before he died, and checked to ensure it was still loaded before checking the grounds for any sign of entry or any means of inconspicuously entering the building themselves, with the aid of Sam's flashlight.

They found a window about shoulder height and Sam managed to pick the lock and open it, climbing through before helping his brother do the same. Once inside, Dean gave his brother a look that told him he didn't need his help to get in when in truth, he really did, being unfortunately shorter. Sam simply rolled his eyes and followed his brother as he moved to look around for any signs of disturbance.

The sound of shattering glass caused them both to jump and run towards the source of the sound, Dean grabbing his gun out from its place shoved in his back pocket. He aimed it at the figure standing over standing over a display case, grabbing what looked to him like a large stick, though he hesitated. Dean squinted to see what was wrong with the figure and as it froze, two _things_ spread out from its back, which he soon realised were wings. He quickly lifted his gun which had unknowingly dropped to aim at the floor and let out three rounds as the figure disappeared in seconds with a flap of its wings, leaving two small holes on the opposite wall.

Dean rushed forward to where the figure had been standing and picked up a large, black feather that had been left behind by the _thing_.

"Dean, what _was_ that?" Sam called to his brother from the doorway. Dean held the feather up, examining it, and ran his fingers along its side feeling a softness not usually found in ordinary bird feathers.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, we need to get rid of it," Dean went to drop the feather, then hesitated before placing it in his jacket pocket and putting away his gun.

"Cassie!" Gabriel cried as his brother came crashing into existence in the middle of the living room. Castiel struggled to sit up, wincing as his injured wing came into contact with the couch behind him, "Balthazar, Castiel's been shot!" Gabriel called out. Within seconds, Balthazar came running into the room.

"Bloody hunters, wasn't it?" Balthazar murmured, kneeling down next to him. Castiel shuddered at the pain as he placed his hand over the wound, attempting to draw the bullet from it. As he caught his breath, his mind wandered to the presence he'd felt behind him before he'd been shot. It felt so familiar, and if Castiel knew better, he would almost think it was _Dean_.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Castiel groaned in agony as a small silver bullet fell from his wounded wing. He attempted to stretch it, wincing in pain as he did so. He watched it, expecting it to heal as all angels, fallen or not, healed practically instantly. When nothing happened, he narrowed his eyes in confusion and tilted his head to the side, looking curiously at the still bleeding hole torn through the muscle.

"It's not gonna heal Castiel, not soon at least," Gabriel informed him.

"Wings are a direct manifestation of your grace, if they get shot then so does it," Balthazar added. Castiel breathed out and shuddered as pain shot through his now blood-soaked wing. He found it almost too heavy to lift and it put him greatly off balance as he leaned reluctantly to his injured side, wing brushing the ground causing him to wince. He shook out his uninjured wing and laid it on the couch behind him, attempting to find some sort of comfortable position.

"Maybe you should put those things away, you're back's gonna kill for a couple of weeks but better than moping around with a practically useless wing," Gabriel sat next to Castiel's wing on the couch, shoving it gently away from him, "you're not getting off school tomorrow mister."

Castiel smiled half-heartedly at Gabriel's tone but was internally grinning like a child, of course he wouldn't think about missing school for a second. Dean was there, and for Dean, he could handle this, he could handle anything. He had watched over him for 17 years, since Dean's very beginning, there was no chance he would miss spending a single second of the so few he had with him.

Castiel concentrated on drawing his wings back into him and felt the pain dull slightly as it throbbed and stung through between his shoulder blades. His head fell back onto the couch, breathing with the effort. He knew he would have to maintain as much concentration on keeping them hidden or risk them getting loose. He remained in this position, eyes closed, breathing laboured, until he felt the warmth of sunlight creep over his face and light the room. The only image in his mind of bright emerald eyes.

x

Dean woke with a start, jolted into consciousness by the dark wings and startling blue eyes that invaded his dreams. Eyes that seemed so familiar as though he had been staring into them his whole life, and that just felt _wrong_. He felt along his bedside table, eyes only half open, for his watch to strap on and jerked his hand back and eyes flew open when he felt an unfamiliar softness. _The feather_ he realised, it lay on the table, perched perfectly in the centre as if Dean had the patience to arrange it as such. Which of course he _didn't_.

Grabbing his watch, he ran out to the smell of toast and burning bacon to find Bobby, frying pan in hand, and Sam pouring over books after only one day at the damned school. He grabbed one of the plates on the kitchen bench with a couple of pieces of toast and some bacon on it and made himself a basic bacon sandwich.

Dean and Sam had luckily enough managed to get back to Bobby's before he had made it home and snuck into their rooms just as they heard the front door open after them. The two of them had agreed to try and find out as much as possible about the mystery winged creature and get this job over and done with as soon as possible. Most of Dean wanted to get out of town as soon as possible, get back on the road and continue his normal hunting routine -though a part of him already wanted to stay, if only for a short time and he couldn't pinpoint the reason why.

He wordlessly finished his breakfast and hurriedly got changed. He yelled for Sam to meet him at the Impala and waited, impatiently tapping on the steering wheel. Sam came out a couple of minutes later, bag in hand, and jumped in the passenger's seat beside his brother. One greeting later they were on the road, driving to school at Dean's usual alarmingly fast pace.

"Didn't realise you were so eager to get to school Dean," Sam half laughed at his brother seeming so intent on reaching the building he had despised the previous day.

"Just want it over and done with, you can do research in the library in your spare time, that's all," Dean stated, it was only a half truth. In all honesty, he wanted to meet with the blue-eyed stranger he'd met the day before. Castiel. He got weird vibes from the kid, but he felt strangely drawn to him, as if he meant something big. It was almost like the same feeling he used to get when his father was still around, as if he was important, more so than the clumsy boy let on.

They arrived within 15 minutes and Sam jumped out, nodding to Dean in good bye, receiving a stay-out-of-trouble look in reply. Dean watched his brother walk in the direction of the library with approval, he hated it when researching jobs became his responsibility.

It was approximately half an hour before the first bell went, and Dean looked around the slowly filling car park for black hair and a pair of ridiculously blue eyes. He found them within seconds, staring at a slightly older boy with concentration; his brother.

As much as Dean wanted to walk right up to Cas, he moved to wait patiently just inside the door. He didn't want to seem too eager, which of course he wasn't. Dean Winchester was _never_ eager to see anyone with the exception of his brother.

When the shorter boy shuffled through the large doors of the entrance, Dean joined his side. He knew he shouldn't get too close to the boy, but something - no _everything_ \- about the kid intrigued him. There was no harm in getting to know him though, Dean rationalised, that didn't have to mean he would be missed when he left. Not that Dean cared. Of course he didn't care.

It took Dean longer than he would admit to notice that Cas was walking awkwardly, as though he had been injured. Dean had seen his brother, and felt himself, walk in a similar way often enough to spot a serious injury.

"Cas, you okay? You look..." Dean trailed off, gesturing to the angel's obvious discomfort in walking. A blush crept up Castiel's face as he heard Dean's voice resonating around his skull, sounding more and more enthralling each time it echoed through. Dean noticed but brushed it off as a symptom of his seemingly poor social skills.

"I'm fine Dean, my back is simply causing me discomfort," Cas winced as pain shot through the area between his shoulder blades. He ached to simply let them free and keep the wound in his sight, though he was stuck with an incomprehensible stabbing sensation deep within him. He rolled his shoulders, as if that would help alleviate the affliction.

Dean raised his eyebrow as Cas brushed the topic off, though he was clearly in more pain than one could usually manage.

"If you say so. What do we have first up?" Dean didn't push the topic any further, not wanting to overstep his bounds. Which was definitely not something he usually thought about.

"Mythology, I was surprised to see you are attending that class," Dean groaned. He already knew all that he needed to, he didn't need to take the class. He considered skipping out on it but immediately thought against it, definitely not for Cas's sake.

"My brother Sammy made me take it, he organised everything about as last minute as possible," Dean rolled his eyes, still not ready to forgive the kid for making him go through with this, he hadn't attended a real school since well before dad had died, and that's how he had wanted to keep it.

The two of them walk into the classroom, Cas tugging on the strap of his bag to keep it on his shoulder and Dean striding confidently and uncaring for his lack of preparation for the day. He had refused to take the books Sam had forced onto him the previous day out of protest. He would be gone soon, he wouldn't need them.

Dean was ushered over by the teacher and Castiel made his way to his usual desk that was yet again at the back of the room. Dean was forced to introduce himself and let out his usual 'parents on a business trip, temporarily staying here with my uncle' speech. He avoided the other students' gazes and his eyes fell on the only place they could, on Castiel. His head was tilted slightly, his eyes crinkled in a smile. He was giving Dean the kind of look a father would after seeing their kid win an award. As if he was _proud_.

So much about Cas confused him, and he had known him for barely a day. The moment their eyes had met, there was a recognition inside them, he could barely string together a complete sentence when he was near Dean and then Dean felt _something_ when their hands had brushed. He almost wanted to get Sam to dig up info on him as well as the _thing_ they has seen last night.

Cas's proud almost-smile dropped as soon as Dean mentioned he wouldn't be staying in town long. A look of confusion mixed with sadness washed over his features. Dean tried his hardest to ignore this, he didn't need to get too close to Cas if this was the reaction he was getting after only a day. It was if Cas had known him all his life.

Dean found that the only empty seat in the room was again next to Cas. He practically threw himself into the chair and found his hands to be the most fascinating thing in the room. His careful examination of the dirt under his nails was interrupted by several groans coming from his classmates around him, with Castiel remaining perfectly silent with slightly flushed cheeks. He looked up to the whiteboard to see a date written in neat black marker.

"This assignment can be about anything; a religion, a celebration, even angels and demons if you want to get into the specifics. Its due in a week and you'll be doing it in pairs. No complaints, no extensions," The teacher gave a couple of the students a stern look and turned back to his desk and began running through the specifics of the assessment. Dean felt Cas shuffle around his bag and got out a notebook and started jotting down the due date and criteria.

"Since you are new and I don't usually have a partner for such assignments, w-would you like to work on this together Dean?" Cas looked expectantly up at his neighbour and waited patiently for a reply.

"I guess, what should we do it in then?" Dean replied, already set on being the brains of the paper for once. No one could have more knowledge on this stuff than he could, hunters basically learn it on the job.

"I am fine with any topic of your choosing, though I would be particularly interested in writing about angels and demons," Castiel ducked his head in embarrassment and peered at Dean through his lashes. Dean was surprised at the answer, he wouldn't have picked Cas as someone into the whole demons deal.

"My uncle Bobby is kinda obsessed with this stuff and I've read pretty much all of his books if you wanna find stuff in those," He wasn't keen on letting anyone near Bobby's large collection of books, they were his main lead when he needed help on a job, but if Cas needed help he could probably-

"That won't be necessary Dean, my family was... Enthusiastic about the teachings of such lore," Castiel half-lied. Dean raised an eyebrow at Cas but shrugged and helped him plan the assignment for the rest of the lesson.

Once the bell rang to signal the end of the period, Cas started to pack his books away as Dean waited beside the desk.

"Dean, I-if we wish to get this assignment finished soon, I believe it would be better if we worked on it outside of school hours," Cas's eyes didn't leave his as he stuttered out the idea.

"That's great but my uncle doesn't really like having people over and the school library closes right after school finishes so I don't know how we could," Dean wanted to avoid spending as much time with Castiel as possible, fearing that he would let his guard down around him, though it was already seeming to slip.

"T-that's fine, if you're willing to you could come to my uncle's house this afternoon to work on it," Castiel didn't want to show how eager he was to spend more time with Dean. He felt he deserved to after waiting 17 years to meet him, and after learning that Dean would not be staying long he intended to make the most of it. He couldn't lose him after so short a time.

Dean considered declining but knew he couldn't just ignore the guy even if he would only end up hurting the both of them if he got too close.

"Alright Cas, after school then?" Cas nodded enthusiastically, a shy smile playing on his lips as he tugged his bag over his shoulder.

The two of them walked through the halls to their next class, exchanging quick glances but few words. The day passed much the same and the angel and hunter were walking out the entrance of the school to the car park. Castiel dashed over to his brother to tell him he would be driving home with Dean.

"Okay bro, just don't get up to any funny business," Gabriel waggled a finger at Cas teasingly, "the only reason I'm trusting you here is because you can smite the bastard in seconds just, make sure to hide the body," Gabriel winked before disappearing into his car. Castiel huffed in annoyance and turned to find Dean leaning against the front of his car talking to his younger but taller brother.

He walked over to the two and greeted Sam after a quick introduction. Dean ushered Cas to get into the car and made his way into the back seat as he watched the younger brother take the passenger’s seat in the front. He sat directly behind Sam so he could still see Dean. They dropped Sam off at Bobby's and Dean nodded to the seat beside him, Castiel obliged and moved to the front seat. Dean smiled as Cas opened the door and was surprisingly glad to have him beside him.

Half an hour later, with Castiel's instruction, they arrived at the angel's house and Dean's jaw dropped in awe.

"Dude this place is huge!" Dean exclaimed. Castiel had no knowledge of what classified as 'huge' in human standards, but by angel standards the building was hardly significant so he merely shrugged in response. Though he couldn't help the heat creeping into his face as he felt Dean stare at him for a few moments.

"W-we'd better go inside," Castiel snapped out of his thoughts and lead Dean to the front door, finding it unlocked, and let him in. Dean whistled in wonder as he walked into the perfectly clean home-renovation-magazine-perfect interior of the house. Castiel couldn't sense Balthazar anywhere near the house and assumed he was out on his own questionable business. He didn't need to try and find Gabriel when he heard the unnecessarily heavy footsteps storming down the staircase.

"Hey there Cassie!" he yelled as he rounded the corner. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Dean, eyes narrowing in suspicion. This greatly confused both of the younger teens, Castiel's head tilted in its usual way and Dean couldn't help but offer suspicion back, "oh, you have company. You two have fun," Gabriel walked off back from where he came, confusing Castiel further.

Cas led Dean, tugging on his sleeve slightly and distracting him from the space where Gabriel had just been standing. They both sat down on the couch in the living room, Castiel covering a small blood stain with his leg. He grabbed out his notebook and a pen.

"So where should we start?" Cas and Dean's eyes locked and Cas was all but blinded by the intensity of his soul shining out from him, brighter than it had appeared all day. His face, which had just returned to its normal colour, flushed pink once again though he couldn't bear to look away. It was as much Dean holding the stare as Cas and neither wanted it to end.

Dean was lost in the depth of the brightest blue he had ever seen, as if Cas was staring directly into him, and he felt unnerved yet safe at the same time. He felt as though he could trust the owner of those eyes with his life if needed. He felt something warm spread through him, making him start slightly. Sure, Cas was a good looking guy - anyone would admit that - but he wasn't _attracted_ to him. Was he? It had only been two days and that scared Dean more than anything; that he could be so far gone in such short time that he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to let go. He couldn't let it go any further so, much to his dislike, he broke the gaze and felt as though a weight that had been lifted had come crashing back down. As he blinked back into reality he found himself a lot closer to Cas than he had originally been.

"Do you believe in them, Cas?" He asked quietly, wanting to forget what had just happened as quickly as possible.

"In what?" Castiel asked, blinking in confusion, still dazed and blinded by the light emanating from Dean.

"Demons. A-and angels I guess," Dean shrugged as if it were no big deal when to him, it really was. He would hate to be called insane by Castiel because he believed in demons. He would be more than likely stuck in a mental hospital if he ever mentioned he _hunted_ them.

"Of course. Of course they're real, angels and demons have been there since the beginning of time and walk the earth as we speak" Castiel stated matter-of-factly. Dean was taken aback. Wanting to do an assignment on them was one thing, but he rarely came across someone who believed they were real.

"You're the first person I've met who's agreed with me. About the demons I mean, don't you think the whole angel thing is a little out there?" Dean had never believed in the existence of angels, the world was too screwed up to host something so supposedly divine.

"The world may be a mess Dean, that doesn't mean there isn't something good out there," Castiel replied softly. Dean laughed sharply.

"They're not out there Cas. If they were don't you think we'd know there was some heavenly being walking down the street?" Castiel's expression showed more hurt than Dean had expected. He hadn't meant to insult him and certainly hadn't realised how much the topic seemed to mean to him, "I-I mean maybe - I guess - they could be really good at hiding. Like geez, you could be one for all I know if we're going with that theory," Dean mentally slapped himself as he awkwardly backpedalled.

Dean coughed as he felt his face heat up in embarrassment and tapped on the notebook in Cas's hands, "So... How about that assignment?" A smile grew on Castiel's face, much to Dean's relief, and he even laughed softly.

They continued to work on their assignment each day for the rest of the week, with Dean going to Cas's house every afternoon after dropping Sam at Bobby's. Both of them were surprised to hear how much the other knew about the subject of demons, and Dean continued to awkwardly joke about Cas and his angels.

X

Each day Gabriel listened from upstairs, thankful that he was able to hear from the distance, and got more and more worried about how much Dean Winchester seemed to know about the supernatural. It was much more than what any ordinary person would know, and too accurate to have been found on the internet by a fanatic. He would have to talk to Castiel about the boy, not willing to risk anything after he had gotten shot by a hunter a few days previously.

Thursday afternoon Gabriel waited until Dean left, later than usual, to talk to Castiel. Each day, as soon as Dean had left, Castiel's wings exploded from his back, groaning in pain as his wings refused to heal quickly. He spent most of his time grooming the area surrounding the wound, wincing every time his fingers brushed the tender area.

"Cassie, what's up with you and that Dean guy?" he asked, attempting to sound casual. Castiel's face almost seemed to be in a constant state of blushing due to the frequency, and this was no exception.

"Nothing Gabriel, what could be happening between us?" Castiel avoided eye contact with his brother, much more concerned with the tiny decorative faults within the floor tiles.

"You're not- you feel something for him, don't you?" Gabriel was glad his brother was finally moving on from Heaven and accepting his place on earth, but with Dean? The kid had only moved schools at the beginning of the week, it seemed too sudden for someone as level-headed and logical as Castiel.

"W-would it make a difference if I did?" he asked, attempting a defiant tone.

"Cassie... I'm happy that you're happy, just- something's not quite right about the kid," He couldn't bear to keep his brother away from Dean, even if he suspected something was up with him. Though he had to admit that he hadn't seemed like he was up to something, he just seemed too similar to many of the hunters he had met to be completely trustworthy.

"What do you mean Gabriel?" Castiel's head tilted and Gabriel rolled his eyes at how oblivious he seemed to be.

"It doesn't matter, just stay out of trouble okay?" He felt like he was talking to a child, though in comparison to himself, Castiel was a mere fledgling. He half-smiled, not feeling up to his usual mischievous smirk, and left his brother on his own in the room.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Dean laid on Castiel's bed, watching him sitting on the foot of it with his laptop, typing furiously. Dean had spent the past week at Cas's house every afternoon planning, writing and not so rarely veering off track and talking for hours without realising. They would never talk about anything too specific, it was usually pointless chatter to pass the time. Though more often than not it would be Dean speaking and Castiel listening, never interrupting, as if enthralled by the words coming from his mouth.

Castiel breathed out slowly, shut the laptop and turned to face Dean who had propped himself up slightly on a mountain of pillows.

"Done" he said quietly. He had done most of the writing though the two had worked together on everything else, something Castiel hadn't thought Dean would be open to.

"Great! You did good Cas," Dean raised his hand for a high five but after being left hanging for several seconds with Castiel staring curiously at it, he dropped it awkwardly back down to the bed. The movement of Dean's arm shifted the hem of his shirt up slightly, showing a small sliver of skin. Castiel looked away, too embarrassed to be caught staring at the sight and silently scalding himself for reacting to such a frivolity. Though he soon determined that no sight of Dean could be considered in such low regard.

"I must say, I'm not upset for it to be over," though Castiel wasn't quite telling the truth. With the finishing of the assignment, Dean's daily visits would stop and he couldn't help but feel disappointed. As if he hadn't made the best of his short lived opportunity.

"Same here. Hey Cas, it's getting kinda late and Sammy's at home so I should probably go. I'll see you tomorrow though, right?" Dean shifted into a sitting position, legs hanging off the edge of the bed. He didn't miss the slight drop of the other boy's head and how his posture seemed to degrade before his eyes. Though Cas still looked up at him with a smile and nodded slightly.

"Sure Dean, I will see you tomorrow," Castiel followed Dean as he got up and made his way to the front door.

"Night Cas," Dean said with a wink. Castiel mumbled a good night before reluctantly shutting the door to hide his burning cheeks. He couldn't keep himself together around Dean, but he really didn't care.

x

Castiel got to school earlier than usual the next morning thanks to Gabriel's annoyingly cheerful mood, so he was left standing at entrance awaiting the arrival of a familiar pair of green eyes. He was not left waiting long, as soon Dean came into his view among the few other students slowly filing into the building. When their eyes met, both brightened considerably, though Dean appeared to be much more controlled.

"Hey Cas, hows it going?" Dean greeted when he reached the slightly shorter boy. Castiel had decided he would miss Dean coming over in the afternoons too much and had decided to ask him over properly, just for the two of them without the need to do schoolwork.

"Hello Dean, I was wondering," Castiel shifted his backpack awkwardly on his shoulder, "well I thought maybe- that you may want to come to my house again this afternoon? I enjoy your company and it would be nice to spend time with you away from school," he was afraid that he was beginning to ramble but Dean merely laughed in amusement as his shyness.

"Sure Cas, I'm sure Sammy can go home with a friend after school so I won't need to take him home again today," with this, Castiel grinned as Dean was willing to spend more time with him and he wouldn't have to give up their extra time together.

"Thank you Dean, my brother will be away this afternoon so he will not bother us," the two started walking into the school building together and separated to go to their respective lockers, knowing they would meet again for their first class.

x

PE. One of Dean's better subjects and one that, unlike most others, he actually looked forward too. They were doing athletics at the moment and Dean's hunting experience came in handy for almost every event as he was fast, agile and accurate.

He didn't see Cas until the class was being separated into groups and they were moved to opposite sides of the field. Dean was placed in the sprint first and Cas in javelin. While his classmates before him began their races he hung back until the end to watch Cas, attempting to remain as subtle as possible. While most of the other students got reasonable distances, Cas's throws passed them by at least three feet each time with the kid looking like he wasn't even trying. If anything, he seemed to he holding back.

Cas eventually met Dean's gaze and he looked away in the time it took Dean to blink in surprise. His next few throws were much less spectacular, landing among the cluster of everyone else's, appearing to land at a perfectly calculated average.

Dean's observance was cut short by his race being called up, though he still almost missed the whistle to go. He came first of course, getting an approving look from the supervising teacher as he recorded his result.

The rest of the period continued similarly, Dean -totally not creepily- watching Cas as they rotated activities seeing him instantly excel at each one but eventually reeling himself back to the other students levels. Dean marked this behaviour as odd and couldn't help but briefly wonder who Cas really was, it was unlikely any common person could have his level of skills. He really knew next to nothing about the kid. Almost as soon as the thought arrived was it moved to the back of Dean's mind to the slowly building pile of curiosity around the blue eyed boy.

PE finished faster than Dean would have liked, and he made his way to the changing rooms, finding Cas tucked away in a corner, removing his shirt with his back to the rest of the room. Dean tried not to appear to stare and to settle the warmth of his face but he couldn't help but take in all the details he could, which he knew a completely heterosexual person such as himself shouldn't really be doing. Though he couldn't deny there was a slight nagging want for Cas to turn around.

The boy's back was almost completely unmarked apart from a small circular scar of some sort just below one of his shoulder blades. It looked reasonable fresh, as though a hot poker had been pressed into the soft skin. Dean winced at the thought of anything like this happening to the poor kid.

Dean hurriedly busied himself with changing before he was caught staring any longer. Once he was done, he turned to find Castiel waiting patiently for him in the same place he had been a minute go, facing him this time. The blue eyes crinkled slightly with a smile and he turned towards the door waiting for Dean to start moving to their next class, English.

The two were seated silently, neither appeared to be paying much attention to the teacher rambling about themes and values of some book they were supposed to have read. Cas was busy staring out the window as he did for every class, caught up in his own world, oblivious to everything around him. When he wasn't looking out the window, he was watching Dean with curiosity. This slightly unnerved Dean at first but as it became more common he began to relax under the soft gaze, it almost began to become a comfort knowing he was safe under those eyes.

Dean was fiddling with his pen mulling over the various and few events of the day. He remembered the scar on Cas's back and spent a few more minutes in internal conflict of whether or not to ask him about it. His curiosity got the better of him.

"Hey, Cas?" Dean waited, and when he got no response he continued, "Earth to Cas?"

"Yes Dean?" Cas's face showed the faintest hints of a smile, though it tended to whenever he was around Dean, something the taller boy always tended to miss.

"Umm, I was wondering what the thing on your back was. The scar? What was it from?" Dean's eyes flicked to the area on Cas's back where he knew the small mark lay. While Castiel remained calm on the outside, internally he was floundering for a response. How could he explain the mark left from the bullet the hunter had shot into his wing? Was it even supposed to appear on the surface of his back? He had been unable to fly any reasonable distance for a week because of the injury.

"I ran into a tree a few days ago and must have gotten injured, I'm fine though Dean," Castiel came up with a poor excuse that he was sure Dean would see right through.

"You sure? 'cause-" Dean was cut off by a sharp warning from the teacher.

"Mr Winchester, surely you have been paying attention and have not been talking all class?" Dean simply rolled his eyes in response, gaining a glare from the teacher who he had gotten on the bad side of on his first day. He had been unable to voice his doubts for Castiel's excuse, which he was sure was a lie. The scar was too round to be a scratch from a tree branch and apart from their first meeting, Cas didn't seem to be someone to just walk into a tree.

Dean remained silent for the rest of the class, fuming at the teacher and wondering about the true origins of the mark, as they were obviously significant enough to warrant a lie. He eventually brushed it off as part of his strange obsession with Cas, a mark was a mark. It could mean nothing.

The bell for lunch couldn't have come sooner and within seconds Dean was out of his seat waiting at the door for Castiel, who was methodically packing his books away. Watching the boy like he was bordered on something he was definitely not willing to admit, not after a week and certainly not with a _guy._ Dean simply shook his head at the thought running persistently through his mind and walked beside Cas towards the cafeteria.

They chose a table towards the back of the cavernous room, sitting across from each other. Dean had the lunch Sam had insisted on packing him that morning, which made Dean laugh as he had always thought of himself as the parent figure to his little brother. Sammy had done well though, packing a reasonable sized slice of pie as well as a bacon sandwich. Dean had to smile, he and his brother knew each other better than anyone else could.

Dean grabbed a small packet of salt that has been packed with his sandwich and made no attempt to open it neatly. He ripped it with a fair amount of enthusiasm, half of the contents flying over Cas, who merely blinked at the small crystals flying towards him.

Castiel, not needing to eat, hadn't brought food with him, which didn't escape Dean's notice.

"Dude, don't you need to eat?" Dean asked, mouth half full of his sandwich. Castiel's head tilted slightly as he remembered Balthazar mentioning something about eating to 'blend in'. The thought was not very appealing to Castiel, as he found it unnecessary and a waste of time when he could be doing much more important things. Of which he had none since falling.

"I don't have any food," Cas simply stated, avoiding any reasons why. Dean gave a breathy laugh and pointed a fork full of pie at his mouth.

"Open up," he gave a flirty wink -which was of course a complete joke- and almost snorted with laughter at Cas's face as he obliged. Dean jokingly rolled his eyes and shoved the fork into his mouth, which clamped shut around it. As he pulled the fork away, Cas's eyes lit up at the burst of apple, cinnamon and sugar creating the perfect cascade of harmonious flavours in his mouth. He began to chew happily on it and swallowing like it was the best thing he had ever tasted. Dean had to hold himself back from laughing any harder than he already was.

"Geez Cas, you'd think you've never had a pie before," Cas gave Dean a sheepish look in response and Dean's eyebrows raised in surprise, what, was the kid brought up in a home so strict he couldn't even have pie?

"I've never had need for something as unnecessary as pie, Dean," Dean almost considered sharing the rest of his pie - _almost-_ but that was something he _never_ did with _anyone_. Dean's mind jolted slightly, he didn't even share food, let alone pie, with his brother. Why was he sharing it with some crazy suspicious guy he barely knew. Dean internally slapped himself, he was getting way too attached to guy and no matter how 'cute' he was, he wasn't going to let Cas get to him. Especially not in the way he was.

"Do you /ever/ eat?" Dean laughed but was almost waiting for a negative answer. Cas's smile looked forced but Dean ignored it and accepted his reply of 'of course I do', hoping that his suspicions around the boy were pure paranoia, of which he knew he had a severe case of.

"Dean, I do not mean to pry but the other day, when you disregarded my... Beliefs. Do you really have that poor an outlook on the world?" Castiel knew this wasn't a usual conversational topic, though he couldn't help but notice how negative Dean's attitude towards everything was and he was curious as to the origin of such thoughts. Dean was struck at the abruptness of the question, though could see no harm in answering it.

"Who wouldn't? The world is screwed up and theres no one to fix it, mean come on, every day theres murders and thefts. Even the stupid museums in the state are being broken into for friggin' _props"_ He winced at the mention of the reason he was in the school in the first place, though could barely contain the on coming rant, "the world is always gonna have its demons and anything /pure/ would have no chance," Cas's eyes softened as Dean spoke. A look of pity -it could almost be considered despair- clouded their stunning blue and Dean was all to ready to reach out and comfort him. He mentally scoffed at himself at how hypocritical he sounded.

What scared him the most though, was the feeling of warmth spreading throughout his whole being at the thought of being close, of touching Cas. He refused to entertain this frame of mind any further and cut it off, ignoring every sensation directed towards the boy in front of him.

Castiel wanted to tell Dean what he was more than ever, though he knew if he did, Balthazar or Gabriel would wipe his memory for sure and force him to move away. He would be shunned for getting to attached to a single human in so little time, though they could never understand that he had been within Dean's grasp from the moment the human had entered the world, before they had even truly met.

He didn't miss the seemingly fleeting mention of what could only have been his own acts of breaking into museums. He calmed the bubbling sense of panic within him by reminding himself that Dean could know nothing of what was truly happening. Of course the incidents would have been reported in the newspaper, it would have been unusual for them to have gone by unpublished. The only way Dean could possibly be of any threat would be if he were something not quite human -which his soul showed he clearly wasn't- or if he were a hunter. The latter had briefly passed through his thoughts, though Dean was so young to be risking his life for such a seemingly endless and pointless profession -if it could be considered even that-.

Any rebuttal seemed pointless against Dean, so Castiel merely returned his gaze, head tilting in silent questioning of such a hopeless mindset. He briefly considered delving into Dean's mind to see what he was thinking, though he doubted Dean would want his privacy invaded without the consent he couldn't give.

There were moments when Castiel wished he could have been completely cut off from his grace, it gave him too much power that he had to remind himself not to use as he would have in Heaven. It would also make his existence much easier, he would have no secrets to hide and could be his true self, unrestrained, around Dean.

The bell rang and the crowd of students started reluctantly vacating the room and moving towards their respective classes. Dean and Castiel soon followed after being shocked out of their unusually intense gaze that, between anyone else, would have been downright creepy. Though to them seemed almost natural. As though words were not needed to communicate everything they wanted to share.

After agreeing to meet at the side of the school after it was finished, the two reluctantly parted for their only class they did not have together, and the moment Cas left Dean's eye line, he felt heavier. Like reality had come crashing down around him and he realised just how _wrong_ it was to be getting so close to the guy. He was here to take down the weird winged thief and as soon as his job was done, he could to leave. As much as Bobby would love him to stay he couldn't. He couldn't handle having ties to a place, he couldn't handle losing anyone again. Which with him being Dean Winchester, seemed to happen to everyone he loved.

Dean never usually got attached to someone in such short time, so the idea that Cas could be imposing on his usual routine of avoiding everyone and leaving before anyone realised he existed, was far from normal. The guy had made such an impact already, from the lingering gaze to the occasional glance to the side. Dean's stomach felt uncomfortable every time their eyes met and he felt warmer than normal from his fingertips to his toes.

This was again, far from normal.

He could even go as far as doubting Cas's true intentions. His beliefs matched up too well with the truth when it came to the supernatural and he hadn't missed the spark of recognition, fear and maybe even /panic/ in his eyes when he has brushed over the break ins at the museums. He hadn't reacted to the salt spilling on him, which was of course intentional. While Dean's intuition was usually near perfect when it came to who -or what- he was talking to, he just couldn't understand Cas in the slightest.

His mind was racing when he slumped into a chair in the back of the classroom, he favoured being at the back and out of sight of most students, a trait he shared with Cas. Suspicions were being raised, each more disturbing than the last. He outright denied each one until there came one where he could give no logical reason as to _why not._ He shook his head slightly, trying to clear it and find some reason why he would be wrong, though he couldn't find one.

It would be a huge jump to ridiculous conclusions but he knew the kid wasn't normal and there was no other possible explanation. He couldn't just let this slip by. Slight anger bubbled to the surface, clouding his thought process. Though whether it was focused at Cas or Dean's own inability to realise what was right in front of him, he didn't know.

He decided to confront Cas about it after school, where they decided to meet up. He couldn't focus on the lesson going on around him and almost didn't realise school was over when it eventually came. He was shaking slightly, nervousness taking hold. Ignoring the violent butterflies attacking his stomach, he forced himself to walk out the school building and prepared himself for doing something potentially incredibly stupid.

x

Castiel eagerly packed up his few belongings and forced himself to leave the classroom calmly, not wanting to draw the attention of others. The cool wind hit him as he exited the large building and he spent a few moments looking for the place Dean had suggested meeting. It didn't seem like he was there at that moment so Castiel made his way over to the side of the school.

He started to turn towards the entrance to see if Dean was outside yet when he let out a surprised yelp as he was grabbed from behind and shoved against the wall on the other side of the corner. His hand flew up automatically to the stranger’s forehead as he prepared himself to let his power loose on whoever was threatening him. He quietly gasped as he saw the bright green eyes, burning with anger staring down at him incriminatingly.

"D-Dean?" Castiel's head tilted in confusion at Dean's aggressive behaviour. Castiel's eyes widened and he help back a whimper at what Dean said next, his cool breath brushing over his face and sending a chill down his spine.

"I know what you are"

 


	5. Chapter 5

Castiel's heart raced. Dean couldn't possible know. How could he know? Castiel was reaching complete panic and fought to keep his breathing as even as possible, knowing his fear could only make it worse. He closed his eyes, preparing himself for Dean's anger, or worse, hatred.

Though he certainly did not expect the words that came out of his mouth.

"You're a hunter, there's no other explanation," Dean practically _growled_ at Castiel, "I should have realised sooner, are you here for the museum case too?" he demanded.

Confusion was the first emotion to enter Castiel's mind after the sheer relief that the word 'angel' had not been mentioned. That confusion quickly lead to fear. That fear quickly lead to terror as he remembered what he had been told about hunters. And that Dean had just revealed himself to be just that.

"H-hunter?" Castiel stuttered out, how could Dean have possible thought he was a _hunter_?

"Admit it Cas, don't even try lying to me. Demons, ghosts, you know what I'm talking about," Dean made no move to loosen the pressure on Castiel and he shifted uncomfortably under Dean's harsh gaze. He had never suspected that such hostility existed between hunters, though he could see the anger clearly in Dean's eyes.

"I swear Dean, I'm not a hunter, _please_ believe me," Castiel tried portraying as much emotion through his eyes as possible, showing his truthfulness and fear to the recently-revealed-hunter.

Dean obviously received the message as he suddenly seemed unsure of himself. He looked around nervously, checking that no one was around witnessing the event and slowly released his arm from Castiel's chest.

Castiel realised his hand was still braced against Dean's forehead and quickly let it drop to his side, thankful Dean hadn't appeared to notice the strange behaviour. He took a couple of seconds to collect his mind, racing from his discovery of Dean. Dean was one of the only people with the ability to truly hurt him, though Castiel supposed even without being a hunter, Dean could hurt him in ways other than just physically.

Surely Dean wouldn't do anything against him, they were friends. Though it seemed apparent that even their friendship didn't matter when it came to who - or what - the other was, at least to Dean. It was his job, and though Dean didn't believe in angels, Castiel was still considered a supernatural being. The exact thing Dean was supposed to hunt down and wipe from the face of the Earth.

Cas looks back into Dean's eyes and sees a panic to rival his own. Dean had realised his mistake and knew there was no possible way to take back what he had said. He hoped to any god there was that Cas just thought he was insane. It would be so much easier that way.

"I'm-" Dean started but couldn't get the words out when he saw the look of complete fear on Cas's face. He took a couple of shaky steps back and quickly turned, rushing to the Impala. Stupid. He had been completely stupid coming to such hasty conclusions. Maybe he really /was/ just some kid who happened to know his lore. He shook his head and started the Impala, driving off as soon as the engine sprang to life.

And he most certainly did _not_ look back at Castiel, who had slid to the ground with his arms wrapped around his knees in shock.

He got back to Bobby's house too soon to find Sam lying on the couch, who immediately noticed his foul mood.

"Dean, you okay?" Dean just rolled his eyes at the question but knew his brother was truly concerned.

"I made a mistake Sammy, I screwed up big time," Dean threw his bag on the floor with more force than necessary and sat heavily on the couch once Sam had sat up.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Sam asked quietly, as if afraid of spooking Dean, who had placed his head in his hands.

"Nothing, its fine. I'm just gonna go to bed," Dean shook his head and made his way to his room, where he got next to no sleep that night. He decided the only thing he could do to save both him and Cas the trouble of that afternoon was to avoid him completely. He hated the idea but he knew he was getting dangerously close to him, and he was being affected in a way he'd never felt before.

x

Cas had flown back home and sat on his bed, staring at the wall opposite him, mind racing at a million miles an hour. Dean was dangerous to be around. He hated the thought of what he did but could hardly stand staying away from him. Though he knew if Gabe and Balthazar found out they would leave immediately, leaving a memory-less Dean behind. Castiel didn't know which was worse.

Gabriel had come into the room a few times to check on him and could clearly see the pain he was trying to hide. He knew something really bad must have happened to have gotten such a reaction though he couldn't bring himself to ask, knowing that could only make it worse. He entered the room once more, attempting to lure Castiel out this time.

"Hey Cassie, wanna go flying? I hate seeing you cooped up in here," He made his best attempt but knew it was futile. Castiel simply shook his head and continued his brooding. Gabriel sighed and left him, as it was all he could do. He was not looking forward to getting him to school tomorrow.

The night passed and Castiel remained in his position until he heard Gabriel clearly getting ready for school. He stiffly slid off his bed, changed and collected his bag, waiting patiently by the front door. When Gabriel saw him his eyes widened slightly, not expecting to see his brother out of his room.

The drive to school was silent and uncomfortable for Gabriel's part. Castiel left the car as soon as it stopped and didn't bother saying goodbye to his brother. He made his way straight to Dean's locker, hoping he would go by it before class.

He knew Dean was dangerous but losing his was the last thing he wanted to happen. He was still the same Dean, still the same soul.

He jolted in his thoughts as he remembered Dean's words. The _museum case._ At the time the words had gone right over his head, though now he had time to think, he realised exactly what they meant.

Dean was hunting him already.

The memory of the pain of the bullet tearing through his wing made him wince. He tried to calm himself down, failing to assure himself that Dean would never find out it was him. There was no way he could guarantee that unless he stopped, but he had to recover the weapons for Balthazar. They didn't belong on Earth in the first place and he had promised his brother, he couldn't betray him for a human he had known for a few weeks.

He had made up his mind not to lose Dean, he just had to be more careful around him. He hoped they would be able to talk about the day before's encounter and there was a slight glimmer of hope that Dean could be open about it. Though he felt guilty for not being able to be as much with him.

His breath sped up as he caught sight of Dean, whether of fear or something else, he didn't know. The green eyed boy hesitated in his step as he saw who was waiting by his locker, but continued with eyes downcast.

"Dean" Cas said softly as the boy reached his locker. He got no response and repeated himself slightly harsher, which only came out sounding more pained, "Dean,"

Dean closed his eyes as he heard Cas's voice. He despised what he was doing but he had just told Cas that he hunted monsters. He knew he would leave as soon as he dealt with the /thing/ he was hunting and he knew it would hurt less to just sever all attachments.

"Drop it Cas, please," his attempt at a strong voice failed pitifully and came out as a whisper. Watching Cas's face drop made Dean want to take his words back, but he knew what he was doing was for the best.

"Dean wait-" Castiel was cut off as Dean closed his locker door and walked to English. Castiel stood there numbly as he watched Dean walk away from him, his heart felt like it was being cut from his chest. Like a part of his grace had been torn away and left with Dean's words. Dean was prepared to drop Castiel from his life after their confrontation. He reluctantly shifted the bag hanging off his shoulder and followed him slowly.

When he entered the classroom his heart dropped even lower. Dean had taken a seat towards the front of the room and had obviously ensured there were no spare spaces around him. He was avoiding looking towards the doorway and was busying himself by playing with his watch. Castiel sat in his usual seat at the back of the room and tried not to miss the feeling of having Dean right beside him.

Castiel made multiple attempts at talking to Dean during the day and each one was either ignored or brushed off. His resolve was slowly crumbling away beneath him and he felt like he had lost the boy already.

When school had finished, Dean had rushed out of the classroom and by the time Castiel left the building, his car was long gone. Castiel sighed and drove silently back home with Gabriel, making his way straight to his room in the same state as that morning.

The next few days pass by much the same, the weekend rushing past in a blur, not that Castiel noticed as he only left his room for school. He continued trying to get Dean's attention, to make him speak to him properly but he had started to ignore Castiel's presence completely. His chest tightened a little bit more each time he was brushed off, and he realised just how much he missed talking to Dean, being around Dean. He missed the way those green eyes gazed into his, he missed the deep tones of his voice.

He knew what he was feeling was not classified as 'normal' towards another, he believed what he felt was more than a strong like. It was the kind of tug in his stomach that tells you that you /need/ to be with this person. He craved for the electric feeling every time Dean brushed against him. He felt so vulnerable around him. So _human_.

Gabriel once again stood outside Castiel's room, knowing just how upset he was, though for what reason he had no clue. He swore if it was that Dean's fault he would tear the boy's spleen out through his throat. He shook his head and figured he would try his best at getting Castiel's spirits up and decided on the one thing he found absolutely hilarious on Earth. The human's version of angelic 'history' and 'lore', which was mostly just a random collection of children's stories, of fluffy white wings, halos and harps.

Not bothered to take the half hour drive, he flew to just behind the town library, made his way to the front door and went straight to the religion section. It took him a few minutes, but eventually he found a couple of books he was looking for. He spotted one on the top shelf and attempted to reach it, which of course he couldn't do due to his short stature. He huffed as he cursed the abnormally tall bookshelves and tried one last time. Another hand quickly slid the book out of its place and held it towards the angel. Gabriel turned to mutter a 'could of done it myself' but stopped short as he recognised the giant standing before him.

"Oh hey, you're Castiel's brother aren't you?" he asked before Gabriel could get a word out.

"Yeah, call me Gabriel. And you're that Dean kid's bro, eh?" Sam smiled and nodded in response.

"Hey- um, you don't happen to know what's up with Dean do you? Like, has Cas said anything about it? He's been acting kinda mopey lately," Sam asked, with genuine concern lacing his voice. Gabriel almost rolled his eyes, of course he had something to do with Castiel's bad mood.

"I have no clue dude, but Cassie's been the same. He's been like that for a couple of days now,"

"Do you reckon they'll just make up and move on or should we get involved? They are our brothers after all," Sam was seriously worried for his brother, who had barely left his room except to eat and go to school. He knew it had something to do with the 'mistake' he had made a few days ago.

"I don't know, Cassie's not exactly one to just go and fix things. If we could just get them in one spot with just each other maybe they'd just sort things out by themselves?" Gabriel just wanted Castiel to get over his bad mood so he could really have his brother back.

"Yeah good idea, like if we get them to both meet us around the side of the school tomorrow but just leave them by themselves to sort things out?"

"Sounds like a plan. I've gotta get back to Cassie but I'll see you around," Gabriel gave Sam a crooked smile.

"Have fun with your angels then," Sam pointed to the small stack of books in Gabriel's arms. He noticed Sam had a similar stack in his own and laughed slightly under his breath, "my name's Sam by the way," he added. The name suited him, although something like gigantor may have been more appropriate.

He left with a quick goodbye and flew back to Castiel. He got no response when he knocked on the door and simply left the books on his bedside table.

The next morning, Castiel was waiting at the door for his brother as usual. And as usual, the drive was silent and uncomfortable.

As soon as they arrived, Castiel made to leave the car but was stopped when he felt Gabriel grab his sleeve.

"Hey bro, can you meet me at the side of the school this afternoon? Uh, Balthy wants us to do something," Gabriel thought his lie was pretty convincing. Castiel reluctantly nodded and continued leaving the car. It seemed stupid for something as insignificant as the side of the school building to make Castiel cringe but that was the moment Dean had started pushing him away. And for that, he never wanted to set foot there again.

x

"Hey Dean, this afternoon can you meet me 'round the side of the school? I've got some stuff about the case and Bobby's back at the house so-" Sam was cut off by Dean's agreement.

"Sure Sammy. Make sure it's good though, we've got no leads to what the hell that thing is," Dean was pissed. Not at anything specific, just in a general _very_ bad mood. The last thing he wanted to do was go back to the place where he was sure he scarred Cas for life, but he needed to get out of this place as soon as possible.

His heart lurched every time Cas had tried to talk to him. He didn't deserve him, Cas was too good and Dean was everything that was bad. He hated what he was feeling towards Cas because he couldn't afford to screw up his life with all his 'issues', and they were so much worse than that word could convey. He had already terrified the kid enough.

Each time Dean saw Cas that day, his heart sunk just a little more. Today was the day, it seemed, that Cas had finally given up on him. He wasn't sure what hurt him more, having to ignore Cas each time he approached Dean, or having him stop bothering with him at all. Each day he had regretted his decision more and more, and he hated himself for it. He was so attached to the guy and it seemed nothing was going to stop the guilt, and general sadness each time he saw the pain and hurt in those blue eyes.

He felt like he was the main character in a chick flick, pining over a lost love. And no matter how wrong he tried to convince himself that it was, he couldn't help but admit it was a pretty damn accurate description.

And then he had to remind himself that he _didn't_ love Cas. He had just found someone to hang on to and his mind was just messing with him. Especially when it seemed to stop working altogether whenever the boy smiled, or laughed and left him a bumbling moron.

The end of the day came slowly and Dean couldn't say he was exactly excited for whatever Sam planned on telling him.

x

Cas was waiting patiently by the side of the school. His back was turned to the wall and the crowd of students going home just around the corner. Behind the school was a forest. How generic. He could hear it teeming with life and couldn't help but think about how easy the animals that lived there had it. I mean sure, fighting for survival and all that. But Castiel had lived for thousands of years, maybe even millions- it had all become a blur as of late, and he knew from firsthand experience that a longer life didn't necessarily mean a better one.

He laughed under his breath about how 'deep and meaningful' his thoughts had become from just listening to a forest. He supposed it was either that or worry about Dean.

As if on cue, Castiel heard hurried footsteps rounding the corner behind him and instantly knew who it was.

He knew Dean wouldn't he coming to talk and be friendly after ignoring him for days. He panicked and considered running but decided he needed to make Dean listen to him, to know he didn't care that he was a hunter. Even if that could be considered a bit of a lie.

He heard Dean stop, as if seeing Castiel had shocked him, and before he could even comprehend what he was doing, had slammed Dean into the wall behind him. It was almost identical a scene as when Dean had confronted him, with the roles reversed.

"Cas, what-" Dean was cut off when the breath rushed from his lungs as he collided with the very solid wall behind him. Castiel instantly regretted his actions as he watched Dean wince in pain but didn't move his arm, which was restricting Dean's movement.

Dean's face was filled with a confusing mixture of emotions, from joy to pain to confusion. His eyes were focused on Castiel's, who couldn't decide what he was feeling. He couldn't get any words out as his mind was bombarded with so many thoughts and feelings.

The mere seconds that had passed felt like hours to Castiel, who felt something in the pit of his stomach that confused him more than anything. There was a small tug that seemed to be begging Castiel to move forward, closer to the boy in front of him. That feeling was something so utterly _human_ that his instincts had kicked in as Castiel was too confused to act upon it himself.

And then his lips were pressed against Dean's, moving on their own accord. It took a few moments for Castiel's mind to catch up to what he was doing and he pulled back in surprise, with the help of Dean pushing him back. He saw an equal look of shock in the green eyes staring back at him.

Dean watched Castiel take shaky breaths, eyes looking anywhere but at him. Dean knew he should have felt disgusted, that what had happened was wrong. But he knew there was no way he could feel that way towards the boy standing in front of him. His hair was slightly messed, ruffled from the wind which had suddenly picked up around them, the look of confusion on his face, flushed with embarrassment, the way he bit his lip slightly as if trying to grasp what exactly he had just done.

He was too attractive for his own good and Dean couldn't help his hands from tangling themselves in Cas's shirt, pulling him back in and slamming their lips together.

Castiel's hands found Dean's shoulders and pulled him closer as Dean's did the same with his neck. Castiel was shocked with the shudders of electricity running through his body, the same as each time he had brushed against Dean before, but amplified a thousand times over.

His thoughts had flown out the metaphorical window, and there was nothing he could focus on that wasn't Dean. The way his hands rubbed against his neck, the taste of the inside of his mouth, the way his lips moved so perfectly that if he were human, his knees would have given out in sheer joy. There wasn't a single ounce of his attention that wasn't on Dean, until he felt something twitch in his back.

At first he ignored it, barely feeling it, until he almost cried out in pain, breaking the kiss that he never wanted to end. Dean looked at him with glazed eyes, confusion once again starting to fill them. Cas tore his gaze from his slightly swollen lips and ran.

He knew what was happening. He hadn't been careful and his wings had begun to break free of their own accord. Thankfully he made it around the corner to the back of the school before he heard his shirt rip from the back and felt the two black appendages form. With a couple of strong flaps, he clumsily reached one of the higher branches of a tree just before Dean ran around the corner.

He brought his wings in front of him, hiding himself from view and giving himself a vague form of camouflage. He peeked out from a small gap between them and saw Dean looking around in a panic. He saw his shoulders visible slump as he realised he wouldn't find Castiel and he turned to leave the way he had come.

Castiel was about to let out the breath he hadn't known he had been hiding when Dean suddenly crouched to the ground and picked something long and dark off the ground. He cursed under his breath as he realised what Dean had found, one of his feathers that must have been shaken loose in the hurry Castiel had been in.

On the ground, Dean's heart picked up, not that it had slowed much from the kiss. He knew it was the same as the feather he had picked up from the _thing_ he was hunting. And that thing had been here.

That thing had been here and who knows where it could be now. What if it was still here? Waiting or hiding?

And where was Cas? Dean felt ashamed for being so forward but he had thought Cas had been fine with it until he ran away.

Again, Dean felt heavy with guilt for whatever he had done wrong.

So now he had two major problems, the winged monster he was after was hanging around the school, and he was gay. For Cas.

Dean wasn't entirely sure which problem he was supposed to deal with, but he knew if the mystery minster was here, it could hurt anyone.

It could hurt Cas.

 


	6. Chapter 6

  
  ***One Week Previously***  
  
"I'm just saying Dean, it’s a theory and we have nothing else to go on," Sam persisted as he and his brother patrolled the hallway of the latest museum they had predicted to be targeted.  
  
"Sam, they don't exist. If they did don't you think Dad would have come up against some and written about them in his journal?" Dean's exasperated reply only annoyed Sam further.  
  
"Do you know how much of the ocean is unexplored? How many species haven't been discovered? Who says the same thing can't happen with the supernatural?" Dean simply rolled his eyes in response.  
  
"Sure, maybe. But _angels?_ I already had this talk with Cas, if they do exist then why would they bother getting off their high-and-mighty asses to bother with us, huh?" He squinted at his younger brother slightly through the darkness and dared him to disprove his statement. Sam shook his head and sighed deeply.  
  
"Just don't disregard it completely okay? I'll even do some research into it, I'll go to the library as soon as I can to try and find some info," Dean muttered a 'sure, whatever' under his breath in reply and continued walking. He was about to change the subject when he was cut off by the sound of a hundred birds coming in to land at once. This of course, would not happen under normal circumstances but of course these circumstances were far from normal. Dean ran forward to the source of the sound and winced as the sharp clatter of shattering glass rang through the air.  
  
Dean rounded the corner into the room the winged figure stood, collecting what seemed to be yet another staff from a display case. Dean hesitated at what he saw, and that half a moment was all the figure needed to make its hurried escape, flapping its wings twice before disappearing completely.  
  
"Son of a bitch," Dean breathed out.  
  
"There's more than one of them," Sam let out a shaky breath as Dean tried to reason why the normally raven black wings could have changed to the auburn ones that had just disappeared before them.  
  
They certainly had their work cut out for them.  
  
x  
  
 ***Now***  
  
"Shifter, it could be a shifter," Dean suggested as once again, they roamed the halls of yet another museum in the middle of the night. He was getting pissed that this had been going on for weeks and yet they had no real leads. He was tempted to give up but once he was on a hunt, he wasn't exactly going to just give it up.  
  
"After religious artefacts? Sure that makes sense," Sam's voice dripped with sarcasm as he couldn't believe his brother would just disregard his angel theory. He'd done enough research to be pretty confident in what they were up against.  
  
"They're just props, what are they going to do with them?"  
  
"But what if they're not Dean?" This stopped the elder Winchester in his tracks. Some of the most dangerous weapons of Heaven on Earth? He _really_ hoped this wouldn't become a race for them.  
  
"God I hope not," was all he could get out.  
  
"Why don't you just ask Cas, I'm sure he has as good a reason as I do to believe they exist," Sam diverted the conversation to the topic at hand. At the sound of Cas's name Dean grew still once more, "Dean? You okay?"  
  
"Yeah Sammy, I'm fine. It's just, Cas- he-I," Dean stuttered, trying to find the best way to tell his brother about that afternoon's... Surprising events.  
  
"Dean, what happened?" Sam seemed very concerned all of a sudden.  
  
"N-No, nothing bad. We just, we kinda, may have kissed," Dean knew his face was going bright red.  
  
"Oh," was all he got from Sam as a response.  
  
"'Oh'? Can I get a little bit more than an 'Oh' on this?" Dean asked, worried his brother would be disgusted or humiliated about the recent revision of his brother's sexuality. Which Dean still wasn't totally used to, calling himself 100% straight his whole life.  
  
"There's not much to say Dean, I don't mind. What do _you_ think about it?" Dean breathed a sigh of relief at his brother's reaction but felt stumped by the question. It's not exactly like he _meant_ to kiss Cas, was it an accident that Dean jumped too eagerly at? Dean groaned as his head started to hurt with all his over thinking.  
  
"I don't know man, I mean sure, I liked it. It was great, I'm just not so sure whether it was meant to happen," Dean admitted. So he may have been watering down the truth a bit, he more than liked it, he was craving it again even now. He was just so paranoid that he felt like he had made some sort of mistake and screwed everything up between him and Cas. The kid had run away after all.  
  
"So, like it was a mistake?" Sam inferred.  
  
"Maybe, I don't know," Dean avoided his brother's questioning gaze and continued ahead, completely missing the person hiding just within the shadows of the next room, pressed against the wall.  
  
Castiel closed his eyes, attempting to block out the pain that had flooded his mind. Dean thought it was a mistake, and Cas had screwed everything up. There was obviously so much to being human that Castiel had yet to learn and it didn't appear to be coming to him easily. Especially the part about dealing with rejection when it wasn't even to his face. He almost wished he had never heard the brothers coming down the hall and just escaped.  
  
With a sigh, he moved to the display case containing what was supposed to be an interpretation of Lot's Salt. The small rock was supposedly able to turn a human body into salt and Castiel shuddered at the thought of it ever being used in such an aggressive way. He lightly touched the glass casing, causing it to explode outwards, making sure to use his grace to mute the noise that would be sure to alert the hunters who couldn't be far off.  
  
The moment he made contact with the rock, he flew back to Gabriel and Balthazar, leaving it on a table near the front door and once again secluding himself to his bedroom for even more brooding.  
  
x  
  
When Dean first caught sight of Cas at school the next day, memories of their kiss came back all in a rush. He felt his face heat up as the feeling of the wall against his back and Cas against his chest flooded back to him, and how desperately he wanted it to happen again. Then the moment Cas ran away, a panicked look on his face. Dean figured that could only mean he had thought what he was doing was wrong, which he couldn't really blame him for. He almost scoffed at the idea of anything remotely good happening to him, and Cas- Cas was more than _good_.  
  
As Castiel's blue eyes found Dean's, he truly felt like a love sick 12 year old with his heart beating loudly in his chest. He averted his gaze, worried that if he stared for too long, Cas would confront him. He figured it would be best to ignore their kiss, pretend it never happened and go back to normal. It was better than the alternative of direct rejection, which Dean wasn't sure he could handle.  
  
"Hello Dean," Cas mumbles shyly as he approaches the human, feeling slightly uncomfortable as he remembered the conversation he had overheard the previous night. Dean notices this and takes it as Cas being unsure as to how to admit what happened was a mistake, and therefore decides to pretend nothing happened just so he could have his friend back  
  
"Hey Cas," Dean smiles widely as he claps Cas on the back, looking expectantly at the shorter boy hoping he would accept the lack of conflict. Castiel stared quizzically at Dean, questioning why he hadn't mentioned what must be on his mind, and felt disappointed as he realised it must be passed forgotten by now.  
  
17 years, he thought, 17 years of watching over the boy in front of him and such a short time of truly knowing, to have grown so attached to Dean Winchester. He was well and truly screwed when it would inevitably come time for him to leave, because he would be sure to follow.

Dean tried to keep his breathing at a normal rate as Cas looked up at him with a look of what could be mistaken for adoration, and failed horribly as every breath caught in his throat and a heat filled his core. The small quirk of Cas’s mouth accompanied by the crinkling in the corners of his eyes made Dean want to pull Cas towards him, wrap his arms around him and never let go. 

“Umm, so do you wanna walk to class together?” Dean coughed quietly to try to cover the heat rising in his face. Cas’s face lit up and he turned down the hall to their classroom and looked expectantly at Dean. Dean allowed a small smile to slip through his carefully guarded expression and almost considered linking arms and skipping down the hall because he was so glad he had his Cas back.

They sat together in the room as usual with the chairs, Dean noticed, to be pushed ever so slightly closer together, which he didn’t mind at all. Especially when their legs or arms brushed against each other on occasion. In fact, he revelled in the momentary contact with the accompanying sensation of electricity running through his whole being. He realised this may not have been ‘normal behaviour’ for someone who was definitely _not gay_ towards their best friend -only friend- which freaked him out ever so slightly. But then people who were definitely _not gay_ towards said friend didn’t usually make out with them for no particular reason other than _it felt right._

Dean caught Cas looking at him from the corner of his eye and automatically grinned in his direction, trying desperately to ignore the butterflies in his stomach erupting as Cas gave him a shy smile in return. He felt like such an idiot for ignoring the kiss from the day before, he wished he didn’t have to, but Cas running away like he did had been a serious blow to his ego.

x

At lunch, Dean and Cas seated under a tree outside the school building as the weather was in their favour. Dean with his bagged lunch made that morning and Cas without anything as usual, apparently due to his inability to make anything vaguely edible himself. They sat in silence for a few minutes, and just as Dean was about to start on his homemade hamburger, Cas spoke up.

“Dean, when you asked me if I was a hunter, what exactly did you mean?” Castiel of course knew exactly what he meant, but asked partially because Dean would expect him to know nothing of the subject, and also because he wanted to hear exactly what Dean did from his own perspective. Surely someone such as Dean could not go blindly into a life of hunting without having good reason to.

“Oh right, I was wondering when you were gonna ask about that,” Dean mumbled through his mouthful of food. He looked down to the grass below him, contemplating whether or not to give the whole truth or to give a more watered-down version, that would probably scare him a hell of a lot less. He decided he could trust Cas enough to give him the former. “Me and my brother, we’re hunters –but not like deer and stuff, I mean of the supernatural. It’s kind of like the family business, my dad did it too until he died a few months ago,” Dean took a breath, he wasn’t used to revealing what he did to other people and raised his eyes to Cas, watching his reaction carefully, who –to his surprise- was taking it all rather calmly.

“I-I’m sorry Dean, about your father I mean. I know what it’s like to lose a father, I lost mine not too long ago as well,” This surprised Dean, who had never before thought that Cas could have any idea about how he was feeling, when he had gone through the exact same ordeal. Or close enough, as his father probably hadn’t been killed on a hunt.

“Thanks Cas, it’s alright I guess, I’ve adjusted well enough. Me and Sammy had been hunting non-stop since he died. The only reason I’m hear is because he begged me to take a break and stay with one of Dad’s old friends, Bobby for a while. Guess that didn’t really work out seeing there’s a hunt here after all,” Cas simply nodded in understanding, which Dean was thankful for. He couldn’t really deal with the barrage of questions Cas would be sure to throw at him eventually. “Hey, is the invitation to your place still open? For this afternoon? I could tell you some more stuff about this if you want,” Dean asked tentatively, hoping he would be able to tell Cas everything he wanted to on his own terms.

“Of course Dean, you are welcome any time,” Cas smiled warmly and Dean cursed silently as he felt his face heat up and knew he was blushing like some pre-teen girl. He suddenly felt so guilty for every second of the past week he had spent ignoring that smile, and those blue eyes. 

“Cas, I’m sorry for ignoring you last week, we all good?” Dean was never good with apologies and assumed simpler was better. Cas’s gaze darted to the ground and back up to meet Dean’s gaze, a small smile still visible on his lips.

“Of course Dean,” he said, his voice a near whisper that sent shivers down Dean’s spine.

x

The next few hours, Dean could confidently say he was happier than he had been in a long time, Cas was back and he hoped to any god that would listen that he wouldn’t have to lose him. He dreaded the day he would have to leave, finish the hunt and move on to the next on the other side of the country. He tried not to entertain the idea of staying, it wasn’t his style. He was used to moving on as soon as he possible could, but this time, staying seemed like the easier option.

Dean sat even closer to Cas for the last classes of the day, smiling every time he caught his eye. He of course remembered he had kissed the guy the other day, he felt his face heat up as it wondered to places it should never go. He wondered why Cas never brought it up, never even gave him a reason why he ran off after he had _kissed back_. He wanted to bang his head against a wall it was so confusing and more than anything he wants to kiss Cas again.

But anything good for a Winchester always turns bad in the end.

x

The drive to Castiel’s house was silent, but both boys found themselves comforted by the mere presence of the other, though there was a tension threading the air, as Cas worried that Dean would reveal the worst about what he was. Though what could possibly be worse than the knowledge that he was being hunted by Dean already?

Castiel was shocked out of his thoughts as the Impala rumbled to a halt and Dean looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to lead him out and inside the house, as if he hadn’t visited as many times as he had. They both exited the car and as Cas opened the front door, he heard Balthazar chastising Gabriel about something he had done at school that day. Castiel simply gave Dean a look that said _they do this all the time_ and lead him to his room. Dean threw himself onto Cas’s bed as if it were natural, and by now it probably was, and patted the space beside him that he wasn’t sprawled over. Castiel joined him once he had closed the door and shuffled slightly so his side was pressed up slightly against Dean’s, shivering slightly at the tingling sensation that ran through it. He closed his eyes, simply wanting to savour the moment until Dean cleared his throat, obviously ready to reveal all.

“My mom, she died when I was four, and Sammy was only six months old,” Castiel was shocked at the sudden start, instantly diving into Dean’s history which he seemed reluctant to share. He turned on his side as Dean did the same, giving him a better view of the boy’s face and the emotion that was already making itself apparent, “I guess that’s what started it all, dad said the fire she died in was started by a demon. Dad told me to get Sammy and run and we’ve never had a real home since then, being on the road hunting non-stop, it’s my life now,”

“Did you ever catch the demon that killed your mother?” Cas asked tentatively as Dean took in a shaky breath, trying to hold back the emotions that threatened to spill over in a landslide.

“Yeah, my dad did, killed him but he didn’t come back that night. Me and Sammy have been on our own ever since,” a small sigh followed and looked into Cas’s eyes, who was busy getting lost in the despair-filled green ones beside him.

“You never thought to stop hunting?” The question took Dean by surprise, because no, he had really never even considered stopping.

“Dad always taught me to follow in his footsteps I guess, so no, I never thought that,” Dean replied quietly, watching the slight narrowing of Cas’s eyes as he looked on, in confusion or questioning, Dean wasn’t sure which. 

Castiel felt like laughing at himself for ever fearing the boy lying next to him. He felt like wrapping his arms around him and comforting him, like whispering apologies that he could not fix his past, like telling him everything that he had been aching to from their first meeting, and that he cared for him more than he could possibly know. And through some impossibly human instinct that had made him move as close to Dean without him even realising, he felt like kissing him. Kissing him with such care and comfort that Dean would _know_ that he meant the world to Castiel, and more, that he was falling once more, in an entirely different and equally terrifying way.

“I’m sorry Dean,” And that instinct took over as Cas leaned his head forward ever so slightly, lips making the lightest contact on Dean’s, and holding there, as if asking for permission, feeling the small shock that still sparked every time they touched running excitedly through their contact. 

Dean sucked in a sharp breath as his _need_ to press forward took hold, but against everything, he pulled back, fearing he would be making a bad decision, as if by kissing Cas once more, he would be pulled into his world of nightmares. He pulled back, using every ounce of willpower he had, and rolled off the bed, grabbing his bag and standing up.

“Uh- I should probably go now,” Dean coughs awkwardly and starts shuffling towards the door, Castiel stands up behind him, attempting to hide his obvious blush of embarrassment and followed Dean to the front door.

“I’ll see you at school Dean,” Castiel said quietly, Dean simply nodded in response and turned to the Impala as the door closed behind him. As Castiel turned to sulk back in his room, he caught Gabriel watching him, leaning against a wall. 

“Humans. Such confusing creatures to live among, am I right?” Gabriel joked, trying horribly to lighten the mood.

“I do not wish to talk about it Gabriel,” Castiel replied sharply.

“Hey bro, if there’s anything you wanna talk about, I’m here and so is Balthazar, though I’m not so sure he’d be all up to giving advice about ‘boy troubles’ but we are family,” Castiel shook his head at Gabriel’ sympathetic look.

“Everything just feels so right around him, Gabriel. I feel like I need to be near him, touching him and then every time I do there’s this… spark,” Castiel felt exhausted and he didn’t want to argue with his brother over Dean.

“Wait, when you say spark are you talking cheesy-romance-novel spark or-“

“I don’t understand what a cheesy romance novel is but I mean a literal shock, does it mean something?” Castiel questioned curiously.

“You idiot,” Gabriel teased softly, “you’ll find out eventually,” he turned and left, laughing quietly to himself about the obvious naivety of his brother.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beware I didn't plan in advance for this chapter but I hope you're happy with the ending!  
> 

The next time Castiel saw Dean was in the hallway at school, his chest felt tight with nerves at the thought of being rejected by Dean publically, for trying to kiss him again. Once they both caught sight of each other, they hurriedly met in front of a row of lockers.

“Dean, I must apologise-" Castiel was cut off by Dean speaking at the same time.

“Cas about last night-" The two boys looked at each other, both feeling guilty about the night before. Cas had been reckless, he knew this, thinking Dean would still want to kiss him - want him at all- after admitting to Sam that he thought their first kiss was a mistake.

Whereas Dean was drowning in his guilt, he wanted to kiss Cas so badly, he’d never felt so strongly about a person before and wanted nothing less than to touch him, feel him, kiss him. He was just too god damn afraid of what he was feeling, it was something that lead to commitment and for a hunter, that was one thing he couldn’t afford to have. He wanted to laugh at the fact that he, Dean Winchester, hunter of the supernatural, was afraid of kissing a guy. A guy. That detail had him reeling, he’d never thought himself to swing that way and now that he apparently did, naturally he would seek the approval of the one person who’s opinion mattered the most; Sam’s.

Dean had felt a weight lift off his shoulders when his brother seemed uninterested in the revelation, as if it had been obvious before his admission. Dean wondered if he had missed parts of his own behaviour that would lead Sam to question his sexuality. But right now, the most important thing on his mind was Cas standing in front of him, nervously tugging on his shirt’s sleeve.

“Cas, I’m sorry for running out on you like that. I’m an asshole, I know, but I gotta tell you that I’ve never wanted to do anything more than I want to kiss you and I’m too god damn stupid to do it,” Dean got the words out in a hurry, embarrassed that he was being forced to admit his _feelings._

Cas simply stood there, in front of Dean in the hall, feeling flustered as the meaning of Dean’s words hit him. _Dean_ was scared too, almost as much as himself it would seem.

“Dean, you have nothing to apologise for, I should not have-“

“Yeah you sure as hell should have, and I should have kissed you back.” Dean said the last few words in a whisper that sent shivers down Cas’s spine, realising that they had moved closer to each other so their faces were mere inches apart.

“Dean…” was all Cas could whisper in response, before seeing Dean’s eyes suddenly dart around, taking in the people surrounding them, and moving back sharply out of his reach. Dean gave him an apologetic look, but that still didn’t sooth the ache that had wrapped its way around Cas’s chest.

“I guess it would be stupid to ask but, can I get a second chance? Making promises aren’t exactly my thing but I can try not to screw up,” Dean sighed, “I’ve just never had to deal with these kind of… things.”

Castiel tilted his head slightly as he wondered what ‘things’ Dean could be talking about.

“Sexuality” Dean blurted out, not being able to stand Cas’s gaze, “I had issues getting over the fact I’m gay, okay?” he laughed in exasperation as he spoke.

“Dean, surely you could not think that to be an issue?” Cas looked up at Dean, not that he’d ever looked away, with wide eyes, too innocent for Dean to comprehend.

“Well I don’t know where you were brought up but not everyone’s so fine and dandy about it,” Cas simply shrugged, not wanting to delve into the issue surrounding sexual orientation, seeing as technically angels had no gender, and that it was merely the vessel holding him that was male.

“Dean, of course you’re forgiven. Of course you have a ‘second chance’ though you could never ruin the first one,” Dean couldn’t help but smile at the fond crinkles surrounding Cas’s eyes and if he were a pre-teen girl he could have described the feeling as ‘melting on the inside’.

But Dean was a _man_ , and okay yeah, he was melting under the others boy’s gaze.

The bell ringing to signal the start of first period cut off any further conversation –and girly thoughts on Dean’s part- so the two boys turned to their class and walked together in silence.

x

“Would you like to come over this afternoon?” Castiel asked tentatively during lunch, still unsure about Dean’s reaction, even after that morning. They sat against a tree, shoulders and knees pressed together, careful trepidation still evident between their newfound… something. What exactly was between them neither knew, but it was definitely more than simply ‘friendship’.

“Uh-“ Dean froze for a moment, he and Sam were supposed to patrol the next museum for the monster that night. He really wished he could go, but he was always taught that hunting took priority over personal business. “Wish I could Cas, but I’m kinda busy tonight. Hunting.”

Cas nodded in understanding, he assumed Balthazar would send him out again that night as usual to retrieve the next item, he thought about postponing his trip but he knew that Dean, persistent as he was, would simply return the following nights until he showed up. He wanted to tell Dean that he didn’t have to go, that the ‘monster’ wouldn’t harm anyone and to leave well alone. But doing so would also alert Dean to the fact that the seemingly harmless and human boy had some connection to it.

“Another day then,” Dean nodded, smiling at the thought of spending afternoons with Cas, away from prying eyes, free to kiss and touch.

“Can’t wait to actually catch this son of a bitch so I won’t have to keep having late nights,” Dean rubbed his eyes as if accentuating his point.

“But what if he just stopped? What if he disappeared, would you keep looking for him or..?” Cas tilted his head curiously, debating his chances if he just gave up. He’d already considered taking back all the weapons in one night, but when he confronted Balthazar about it, was told it would be too likely to attract heaven’s attention. As if what he was doing wasn’t already ringing alarm bells upstairs anyway.

“You win some, you lose some I guess. But I have no idea what this thing is, it might be more dangerous than me and Sam think,” Dean mused, “Sam thinks it’s an angel of all things, can you believe that? Angels coming down to Earth to steal from _museums_. ‘Thou shalt not steal’, yeah right.”

“I believe some angels may choose to rebel for certain reasons. We take free will for granted Dean, I do not think you could know what a lack of it would feel like,” Cas smiled slightly, remembering the reason for his own rebellion was sitting right next to him.

“So what, we’re up against a fallen angel? You’re as bad as Sam about this stuff,” Dean teased, shooting Cas a bright-eyed smirk that had him smiling softly too.

Cas couldn’t help himself but take Dean’s hand, letting it rest against the soft ground, and revelling in the electric feeling of his touch, not bothering to question the sensation any longer.

x

“Hey baby bro, how was school?” Gabriel asked Castiel as he approached the car at the end of the day, turning from his conversation with none other than Sam Winchester, who was smiling dopily at something the older boy had said. He noticed how Cas’s gaze hadn’t reached him yet and was tracking something else’s path across the parking lot -Dean’s path- . “Or should I be asking how was Dean?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow and shared a glance with Sam.

“Uh- I’d better get going. See you tomorrow Gabe,” Sam said quietly and started walking off in his brother’s direction.

“See you around kiddo!” Gabriel replied, sending a wink the younger Winchester’s way.

“Gabriel?” Cas stared at his brother curiously.

“What? He’s cute,” Gabriel smirked.

 _And a hunter. And hunting us,_ Cas replied silently. But then again, that wasn’t stopping him and Dean.

Not that Dean was aware of Castiel’s secret though.

“You all good for tonight?” Gabriel snapped Castiel out of his thoughts, Cas nodding in answer, “Good ‘cause you better get started early to get those hunters off your trail,”

Castiel almost laughed at the irony.

x

As soon as Castiel arrived home, he dashed into his room to pull off his shirt and let his wings out to relieve the ache that had been steadily throbbing through his back all day from sheer lack of concentration. Whether that was due to emotional exhaustion or excitement, he didn’t know.

He laid face-down on his bed, waiting for nightfall and anticipating the next day with Dean. Maybe Dean could come over that afternoon. Maybe they could just talk for hours. Maybe Cas could get Balthazar to make dinner for them with some semblance of human tradition.

Castiel stayed in the same position until Balthazar knocked on the door, disturbing his peace. Castiel sat up, arranging his wings so they fell on either side of the bed. Balthazar smirked in a way that echoed Gabriel’s too greatly for Cas to not be concerned about his intention.

“So I heard some interesting news from Gabriel the other day,” Balthazar’s smirk grew wider as Castiel’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“I have done nothing of import recently, what did Gabriel tell you?”

“Oh just something about some very important part of fallen angel biology you obviously aren’t aware of,” Balthazar teased.

“I don’t understand, are we not identical to humans in every way but our grace?”

“Well yes but the defining feature is the grace so of course we’d work a little differently,” Castiel just got even more confused, “I’m giving you the angel version of ‘the talk’ Castiel,” Balthazar sighed.

“You see, humans have this silly concept of soul mates. Rubbish, all of it. But angels don’t have souls, we have grace, which is a lot more active than souls. Are you following?” Balthazar paused

“Of course, every angel knows this but what does this have to do with me?” Balthazar broke into a full grin.

“Angel grace behaves differently to a soul and so can sort of, _force_ itself onto a human’s soul, reaching out and trying to latch onto it, sort of like a soul mate but the _real thing_ ,” Balthazar could almost hear the gears turning in his head as he slowly worked out what Balthazar was telling him.

“I’m not entirely sure I un-“ Balthazar cut him off.

“This process is most noticeable through touch Cassie, like electricity?” Castiel’s eyes shot up as he finally understood.

“My grace is forcing a soul mate bond over Dean?” his eyes widened impossibly and he shook his head violently, “this can’t happen this can’t be consensual how do I stop it?” he asked fearfully.

“It wouldn’t happen unless the soul is willing Cas, it seems young Dean Winchester has a thing for my little brother,” Balthazar laughed.

“I never said anything about Dean,” Cas shot back.

“Honestly, who else was it going to be? Not that hard a guess, you only have one friend,” Balthazar winked before changing topics suddenly, “You ready for tonight then? Better get started early to-“

“To get the hunters off my trail. I know, Gabriel told me earlier,” Castiel answered, still dazed over the fact that his grace and Dean’s soul were literally pulling them closer, begging for them to be close to each other in all meanings of the word.

“I’ll leave you to get ready then, you sure you’re okay to go alone?” Balthazar’s concern was evident as he caught Castiel’s gaze. Cas simply nodded and Balthazar did the same as a good-bye and left his room, though rather reluctantly.

Cas sluggishly stood from his bed and moved to his closet to find a change of clothes. Once he had he paused before leaving his room, fantasising about Dean finding him at the museum and accepting him, where Cas could finish what he’d started doing with Dean’s support. Which was the one thing he desired most.

“I’m leaving now,” Cas told his brothers, focusing on the early-night sky’s darkness that would be his cover. He closed his eyes and focused on the place he wanted to end up, and with one beat of his wings he was there. Teleportation, he had decided, was such a poor representation of his true movement to his destination, but it was the easiest name for it.

He reached out with his senses slightly, testing to see if anyone, namely _Dean_ , was in the building, and found no one. The slight disappointment he felt was ignored as he strode with purpose towards the display which contained his goal.

With minimal effort, it was retrieved and Cas flew back home within minutes, barely pausing when he felt two people arrive outside the grand building. Balthazar and Gabriel acknowledged his return briefly and relieved him of the weapon.

Castiel returned to his room and retook his previous position on the bed, wings spread open, nearly stretching from wall-to-wall. He resumed his waiting, for sunrise this time, in a state as close to sleep as possible. With more dreams -not so much dreams as Castiel could never sleep- of Dean Winchester.

x

Castiel had passed through much of the morning in the same dream-like state as he could find no reason to pay attention to the monogamous routines of his brothers.

By the time he and Gabriel arrived at school, the Impala was already parked nearby with Dean leaning against the hood. Castiel hurriedly got out of the car and walked over to him.

“Was wondering when you’d get here,” Dean teased, with a mischievous glint in his eye, reminding Cas of the look in Balthazar’s the night before.

“I hope you weren’t waiting long, Dean,” Cas replied sheepishly, but couldn’t hold in the warm grin claiming his mouth. Dean’s face lit up similarly.

“So that invitation to your place wouldn’t still be standing would it?” Dean asked.

“Any time is fine, my brothers don’t mind,”

“ _Brothers?_ I thought it was just Gabe and your uncle?” Dean’s eyes narrowed with confusion slightly.

“Of course,” Cas hastily back tracked, “that is what I meant, Gabriel and my uncle. Just a mistake on my part,” he cringed internally as he knew how awkward his cover sounded.

“Right, so you wanna go in?” Dean laughed quietly, brushing off Cas’s slip.

“Yes, lets.” Dean laughed again, “what is so funny Dean?”

“Nothing, just sometimes the way you say things. Not many people talk like you Cas,” Castiel turned his head away as he felt his face start to heat slightly.

“I’m sorry Dean, is it an issue?”

“Nah Cas, I like it.” As Castiel turned back he caught Dean’s wink his way, which only helped to increase his already formed blush. That made Dean laugh even harder, throwing his head back slightly in a way that made Cas never want to stop watching the boy laugh like that.

Once Dean calmed down, he caught Cas’s stare, which didn’t miss the suddenly flushed skin creeping up the base of his neck, in obvious embarrassment.

“I apologise for staring, Dean,” Cas said quietly.

“Don’t apologise Cas, I don’t mind. I mean, if you were just some stranger then yeah, it’d be kinda weird but it’s you. So I don’t mind.” This made a small -but still self-conscious- smile set itself on Cas’s face at Dean’s words.

They walked to class in silence once more, but this time both with outwardly stupid smiles on their faces, gaining a few odd looks from passers-by. But neither could care less for they were still caught in their own worlds, with only each other.

x

By the time the last bell of the day rang, Dean and Cas were both rushing outside to meet with their respective brothers to inform them of their plans for the afternoon. It was hardly a surprise to see them together at Gabe’s car once more.

“Hey bro,” Gabriel greeted Cas as the two boys approached, ignoring Dean for the moment, “Me and Sammy here are gonna go for some food so is it okay if you get a ride home?” Dean’s eyes narrowing in suspicion did not escape Castiel’s notice.

“Dean was going to come over to our house anyway so I can go with him,” Castiel gestured towards Dean as he spoke. Gabriel simply pursed his lips in amusement and nodded.

“Well I _suppose_ that’s acceptable. Just don’t get up to too much trouble when poor old Balthy is there all by himself,” Gabriel raised an eyebrow mockingly. Castiel shook his head in embarrassment as he heard Dean’s quiet laughter from his side. He muttered a quiet ‘goodbye’ to his brother as Dean did the same with Sam, and turned towards the Impala.

The ride to Cas’s house was filled with an unsure, excitable energy as neither boy was entirely sure of what the visit meant, whether it was to further their relationship after the awkward confessions, or to ignore exactly that.

By the time they arrived, it seemed Dean had made up his mind as he hovered awkwardly between the Impala and the house as Cas shut the car’s door behind him.

“Dean, are you okay?” Cas tilted his head as he felt the nervous energy rolling off him.

“Uh- ye-yeah, I am. Just… hang on,” Dean cast a glance around, as if looking if anyone was around to watch them. He wiped his obviously sweating hands on his jeans and reached upwards. Cas shivered slightly when Dean’s hand curled around his cheek hesitantly, as if asking permission, and his breathing sped up as Dean leaned towards him. He could feel the electric energy running between them, which he now recognised as Dean’s soul desperately pushing towards his own grace. He opened himself up to gratefully accept it as Dean’s lips touched his once more. The feeling of electricity multiplied impossibly and Cas could sense, as Dean’s muscles tensed then relaxed, that the other boy could feel it too.

Cas gasped as the feeling intensified even more and Dean took the advantage to lick his way into his mouth, exploring in a way he hadn’t gotten to before, savouring every taste that was distinctly _Cas._ Cas followed Dean’s lead as he learned what would get the greatest reactions from him; a swipe of tongue over teeth, a scrape of teeth over his lower lip, loving every gasp and sound he got out of him.

The moment -that could have been seconds or hours for all the pair cared- was over all too soon as they had to break for air. Or well, _Dean_ had to.

“Um, sorry abou-“ Dean was cut off by a peck to his lips.

“Don’t you dare apologise for that Dean Winchester,” Castiel warned breathlessly. Dean simply laughed.

“So uh, want to go inside?” Dean rubbed the back of his neck and laughing quietly and awkwardly.

“Of course, but I believe that if you intend to continue what you started that we do so in my room out of range of Balthazar,” Cas deadpanned, then let a small smile that had been aching for freedom to get through. Dean’s responding laugh sounded relieved.

“Sure Cas, whatever you want,” he winked once more and the heat returned once more to Cas’s face. He wondered if he would ever get over responding as such to Dean, and figured he could never get used to such a wonderful boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello yes I know I updated WAY to slowly on this one, I probably won't improve because my school decided to pack the second last year into 3/4 of the time we usually have so everything is at a much faster pace and I've taken up a couple of major commitments which will take away a fair bit of my free time. BUT that doesn't mean I'm going to stop writing, I just may take a while to update in the future. This is definitely over half done so it shouldn't be too long until completion, thanks for being patient guys :))


	8. Apologies

So idk if anyone still really follows this fic and I know I haven't updated it in over a year but if anyone still wants to know I haven't forgotten about it. I still have the start of the next chapter on my laptop to be worked on and I haven't totally given up on it. I'm going to try my hardest to finish it before the end of the year which may be a struggle since I'm in my last year of school and it's been a rough ride for me so far. 

But I'm really really sorry that its been so long since I've updated or made any mention of whether I'm continuing/ditching this fic, I'm thinking of finishing it a little earlier than I'd expected, maybe making it between 10-12 chapters long or so. Life is just at a bit of a stressful point right now and I've never been good with life in general and everything is so much more intense than I thought it would be. 

But if anyone still actually wants this to be updated, don't worry I haven't abandoned it and I don't plan on abandoning it, just taking my time to update it. Hopefully it'll be a little bit less than a year between updates because after mid years I'm going to try my best to get at least a few chapters out before end of years start just a few months later.

But yeah, to those who've left kudos and subscribed to this fic, thanks and I'm sorry for being such a shit writer <3


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